Hell's Pirate
by Pcano94
Summary: After suffering serious wounds, Peidro, King of Hell, wakes up in the world of One Piece and meets Aleera, an aspiring pirate. After receiving a warning about the planet's destruction in 2 years, Aleera and Peidro decide to join the Straw Hat Pirates and try to change the planet's fate, risking their own. OC-centered fic. Main Pairing: LuNa. More pairings later. Rated M.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. This wonderful series is owned by Eiichiro Oda. I only own my Original Characters.**

_**This is my first fanfic. Please read and give feedback! **_

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_**Hell's Pirate**_

** Chapter 1: A New Universe**

_"You will never have her, Demonicus. And you will not leave this Universe alive!" _

"Arceus!"

Peidro's eyes snapped open and he was about to stand up, but a large surge of pain flowed throughout his abdominal and chest area, causing him to sit up slowly. Wincing and growling in pain, he began to take in his surroundings. He was in a small, dimly lit room, on a very soft, twin-sized bed. Next to the bed was a small window, which was covered by curtains. Across the bed was a small desk that had the only artificial source of light in the room resting upon it, along with two trays: one had what seemed to be medical utensils and bandages and the other had food. There was a shelf situated adjacently to the desk, filled partially with books about pirates and navigating, but most of them were about old legends. The door to exit the room was across the shelf, and partially open. There was audible activity beyond the door and a very delectable smell wafted through the air, but Peidro ignored them.

Peidro looked down at his body. There were bandages everywhere, surrounding his entire upper body all the way to his wrists. He picked up the sheets he was under. His tattered black pants were still on, but his black gi and ornamented combat boots were gone along with his black hellborn leather trench coat. He scrutinized the room once again for a sign of them. There was none. Sighing deeply, he stood up and walked towards the desk.

Now, he managed to see the rest of his clothing, except his trench coat. His red undershirt and black gi were neatly folded on the chair's seat and his black ornamented combat boots were under it. Smirking, Peidro bent down slowly to gather his belongings. He first grabbed his boots and put them on. Then he grabbed his undershirt and gi and unfolded them. They were still ripped, but there was obvious evidence that someone tried to sew the clothing back together, and whoever did that had little success. Smiling lightly this time, Peidro imagined that person attempting to piece back his clothing, pulling his or her hair out because the material of his clothing was far different from normal human clothing.

Peidro then put his tattered clothes over the bandages. He was now in his full clothing, but a small part of his mind nagged at him that something was missing. With a soft "ha!" he remembered his fingerless fighting gloves and his trusty armor bracelet. He began searching quietly through the table and on the small counter beside the bed. He found nothing. Straining his face slightly, he attempted to remember the possible locations of his fighting gloves and bracelet.

'_Damn. Where could those things possibly be?' _thought Peidro.

He couldn't have left them at Cynthia's villa over at Undella Town, and he sure as hell could not have left them at his friend Sabrina's mansion over at Saffron City. Where else could they be?

Then it hit him. They were in a pocket in his trench coat! Now, all he needed was to find it. But where was it?

Growling softly, Peidro walked towards the door. Whoever took care of him must have taken his trench coat. If that person attempts anything funny with his prized possessions, he or she would know the wrath of the King of Hell himself! But no, whoever took care of him was nice enough to actually pick him up from wherever he landed and brought him here to his or her house for care. Peidro was grateful for that fact. He knew that if the person was just a plain asshole, he or she would just leave him there to die. Of course, he wouldn't die due to the fact that he had sustained wounds far worse than what Arceus had given him and actually lived to tell the tale. The elaborately shaped scar on his right eye was testament to that fact. He was on the receiving end of a God's onslaught and managed to get out of it with that scar.

Peidro faced the mirror on top of the desk, anger showing plainly in his face. He remembered the incident vividly in his mind and it infuriated him. How could he let himself be defeated by Arceus?! Granted, Arceus had the help of the Creation Trio, but nevertheless, Peidro should've firmly had the upper hand in that fight. Where did the fight start to shift in favor of the Legendary Pokémon? It was impossible! He had everything calculated. There was no way that Arceus could've gained that much power in just 1,000 years! He even managed to break through the visor of his special armor, which was supposed to be unbreakable!

'_Calm down, Peidro. Think straight. It doesn't matter that he defeated you this time. He did it with help. That coward did it with HELP!' _he roared in his head.

Growling slightly louder this time, Peidro focused his attention on his tattered clothing. Breathing heavily, he attempted to relax. A small spell should be enough to stitch back his clothing, so that wouldn't be too much of a problem. The bigger problem would be fixing his armor. The material was rather difficult to come by, as it was only found near the Pits of Inferno, an extremely dangerous place even for a fully grown, fully powered Super Demonicus like himself. This was going to be difficult.

But he would save that for later. Now, what he needed most was to find out where he was and find a way back to Nimbasa City. Oh, and he needed to heal as well. He might be a hardhead sometimes, but Peidro was no fool. He knew that if he rushed into battle in his present conditions, he would be annihilated by Arceus. He had to play it smart: heal, get stronger, and make an epic return for revenge. That would be the safest course of action.

With that set in mind, Peidro focused his energy into his clothes.

"_Remendado,"_ he muttered softly. His torn clothes began to stitch back together at a slow, steady pace. After a few seconds, the clothes were back to normal. Now he could focus on finding his trench coat.

The sound of a door opening rang throughout the room. Slightly alarmed, Peidro rotated towards the room door, hand raised, ready to launch an energy blast. But the door was still semi-ajar. It wasn't this door that was opening. It was most likely the front door of the house. Whoever was making the delectable food had left the premises.

Peidro cast out his senses, trying to pick up any energy signatures inside the house. There were none. Judging it as a good time to exit the room, he made his way to the door.

A rather humble sight greeted his eyes when he opened the door. In front of him was a small, well-lit living room with blue walls and a sofa to Peidro's right. When he stepped out, he noticed a counter sitting to the left of the door, and on top of it sat a few frames with pictures of a young girl and her father outside a small house. Peidro leaned closer to examine one of the pictures. There was no sign of a mother. The girl looked like she was 5 years old in the picture. She had shoulder length, ruby red hair and wore a plain white dress with white sandals. She had a lopsided straw hat on her head, and also had an ear-to-ear smile plastered on her face. Her eyes were closed, so Peidro couldn't see their color. The man to her left had the same red hair as the little girl, but shorter; three slash scars ran through his left eye. He was clad with a white button-up shirt open down to his abdominal area, showcasing his well-toned, muscular chest. He wore calf length black pants and sandals. He also had a black cloak wrapped on top of his shirt. His right hand was on the straw hat. His left hand was ruffling his hair. He had the same wide smile as the little girl on his face.

Peidro couldn't help but smile slightly. A father and a daughter, it seems. It brought back memories.

His smile disappeared, replaced by a look of hatred. It brought back memories of that day, 15 million years ago. Peidro's energy began to flare up, causing the floor to shake slightly.

He stopped suddenly, when he felt an energy signature come close to the house. It didn't feel like the owner of this place, so Peidro shrugged it off and continued exploring the small home. He then walked towards the counter that was situated straight ahead from the bedroom door, and into the small kitchen. A pot was sitting on top of a flame, and steam rose off the top vehemently.

'_Smells great. Whoever this person is must be a pretty good cook,' _thought Peidro. '_Better not touch it, though.' _

Peidro walked around the house again, completely lost in thought and oblivious to a coat hanger that had his trench coat and was situated close to the front door. Once he actually noticed the coat, he face palmed and walked towards it.

It seemed that his trench coat was still in pristine condition, just how he likes it. He grabbed it and began inspecting the inner pockets. He found the bracelet and his gloves inside the left pocket. He quickly took them out and inspected them. The bracelet seemed to be okay, and so did the gloves. He paid closer attention to the bracelet. It was small, metallic, and had small runes embedded on it.

He strapped the bracelet on his right wrist and brought it close to his mouth.

"_Infernum Arma," _Peidro muttered to it. Instantly, the bracelet began to shine. A sleek black and red armor materialized on Peidro. The gauntlets had elongated finger slots that ended sharply to accommodate the claws that grew out of a Super Demonicus' fingers. A helmet surrounded his head, but it was broken.

'_I guess this isn't as bad as I thought. The visor is the weakest part of the armor. The rest is pretty much indestructible. Well, the solution is simple… get rid of the helmet,' _Peidro mused in his mind.

Peidro placed his hands on both sides of his helmet and pulled it out. He studied the broken visor once again.

"I really liked that visor… Let's see. I have to remove this helmet from the bracelet schematic. How was it again?" Peidro spoke to himself while he surrounded the helmet in a bright blue light.

"Ah yes… _Remova Arma Vista…" _ he chanted softly. The helmet was now surrounded in a red light, and it began to disintegrate slowly. After it was over, Peidro examined the rest of his armor.

Deducing that it was in pristine condition, Peidro chanted, "_Infernum Arma Sella." _

The armor began to recede from all parts of his body, all of it headed towards that little bracelet that was now visible on his right wrist.

'_Now that that's done, I have to find out where am I and locate either Cynthia or Sabrina,' _thought Peidro, putting on his coat. He furrowed his brows in concentration, casting out his senses to try to detect any large power levels.

Peidro received a slight shock. There were power levels, and many of them were pretty decent, but none of them were familiar. In fact, all of the highest power levels were human. There wasn't a single Pokémon energy signature in this entire planet. To make things worse, neither Cynthia's nor Sabrina's energy signatures were located.

Now Peidro was intrigued. The only explanations available for this little phenomenon were that he was sent to another planet or to another universe entirely. He sincerely hoped it was just to another planet, because in his present condition, making a Universal Leap would bring grave consequences to his health, and he sure as hell didn't want that.

Sighing deeply, Peidro paced around the living room. He was deep in thought once again for a few minutes, until his train of thought was interrupted by a very familiar, female voice.

"Lord Peidro!" the voice said. She sounded anxious. A smile appeared on Peidro's serious features.

"_Aperiant Infernum!" _Peidro said while lifting his right hand up. A bright, red portal appeared in front of Peidro. A beautiful, young woman's face was on the other side. Her skin was light-colored, and it seemed very soft. She had shoulder length brown hair with one strand hanging lower, vibrant sapphire oceans for eyes and perfectly rosy lips.

"Tafariel…" Peidro answered simply.

"My lord! Thank goodness I've found you! I was so worried when we couldn't detect your energy signature in Universe 09. We thought you were murdered by Arceus!" Tafariel said, relief apparent in her voice.

"Now now, Tafariel. There's no need to worry. I am fine," Peidro smirked, containing a laugh.

"That's not funny, my lord! You cannot imagine how worried I was about you. You can ask Apocalypse! I cried twice!" Tafariel cried indignantly.

Now Peidro laughed. Tafariel just looked at him with a shocked expression.

"Tafariel, how long was I gone? A year?" Peidro asked mockingly. Tafariel pouted slightly.

"My lord, it's been 2 months since your last report to us. And when we couldn't detect your energy signature last week, it all went downhill!" she stated, her voice volume increasing with every word.

"Tafariel! There's nothing to worry about! I am fine! Can't you see?" Peidro retorted, losing his patience slightly. Tafariel opened her mouth to argue, but he raised his right hand, rendering her silent. "Look, Tafariel. I'm alive. For me, that's all that matters. And that's all that should matter to you. Nothing else, am I clear?"

Tafariel nodded, looking very hurt.

"Good… Now, I want to know where I am and if I'm still in Universe 09." Peidro continued, apparently ignoring her expression.

"My lord, you're not in Universe 09 anymore," Tafariel confirmed. "Our sensors and the I.L. state that you are currently in Universe 25."

"Universe 25? How the hell did I manage to get here?" Peidro asked, mostly to himself.

"We think that after you received the worse part of Arceus' attack, you subconsciously performed a Universal Leap all the way to Universe 25, which explains the sharp decrease in your energy output and the worsening of your health."

"Seems legit. Hmm… I haven't really taken a look at the wounds, but judging by the way I feel I estimate that it will be about a few months before I can make a Universal Leap without adverse effects. The severity of the wounds might extend the wait or shorten it. It depends. All I know is that whoever treated me saw it fit to wrap my entire upper body in bandages," said Peidro, furrowing his brow slightly. Tafariel gasped.

"My lord…"

"Personally, I don't think it could've been that bad. I'll check on my wounds in a bit," Peidro interrupted.

Silence ensued between the pair. A decent power level was approaching the house. It was the owner of the house.

"Tafariel, there's not much time. I want you and the others to keep a close eye on Universe 09 while I recover. Report to me everything that may seem crucial to you. If nothing relevant happens, then report to me every week. Understood?" Peidro said.

"Loud and clear, my lord. I will tell the rest. But there is something that is very crucial, and it pertains to Universe 25," Tafariel answered, looking away momentarily.

"Well, spit it out!" Peidro said, slightly impatient.

"Well, you might not believe this, but…" began Tafariel, but was interrupted by a door opening.

Peidro spun around to find a young girl, about 5 feet and 7 inches tall, looking at him with wide, fiery red eyes. Her shoulder length, ruby red wavy hair matched beautifully with her eyes and contrasted perfectly with her light skin tone. Her lips were slightly thin and pink. She wore a black tank top with "Yonko" inscribed across her well-developed chest in red letters that revealed her belly button, white pants with a red sash around her middle. She wore a black cloak and had a sheathed katana strapped to her left hip.

'_So that's the color of her eyes…' _thought Peidro. '_They're beautiful.'_

"Oh," said the girl, surprise evident in her voice. "I didn't know that you were awake already! I'm so glad you are fine!"

"Eh? You are my caretaker?" asked Peidro, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah," she replied, totally ignoring the fact that a bright red portal was right in the middle of her living room.

"I'm Aleera."

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_**Thanks for reading! **_


	2. Chapter 2:

_**Here's Chapter 2! **_

_**I will try to update every two weeks. If that can't happen, the latest will be every month. I will try to make every chapter have a minimum of 2500 words. **_

_**Read and Review, please!**_

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**Chapter 2: Aspiring Pirate Aleera and the Doomsday Forecast**

Peidro smiled.

"Aleera, huh?" Peidro said. "That's a beautiful name."

"Uh, thanks…" Aleera replied, reddening slightly. "What's your name?"

"The name's Peidro," he replied, extending his hand towards Aleera. She took it, smiling sheepishly. He then signaled towards the portal. "This is Tafariel, my advisor and close friend."

"Peidro, Tafariel, it's so nice to meet you!" said Aleera, waving towards Tafariel.

"The pleasure is all mine," Peidro replied, then turned towards Tafariel.

"It's nice to meet you too, Aleera," Tafariel said, giving Peidro a warning look that he ignored. He then rotated towards Aleera.

"How do you feel? How are your wounds?" asked Aleera, not noticing Tafariel's look.

Peidro furrowed his brows slightly, as if in deep thought. "Well… I actually haven't looked at my wounds, but I feel great!"

Shock was apparent in Aleera's eyes as she surveyed Peidro.

"Are you sure, Peidro?" Aleera questioned. "I mean, when I looked at your wounds, they seemed pretty intense."

"I'm entirely sure," Peidro reassured.

"How do you know if you haven't even looked at them?" she insisted, placing her cloak on the hanger. She removed her katana and placed it beside the hanger, then turned and walked towards Peidro.

"Well, describe them to me," Peidro answered. "How do they look like? How big are they? How deep are they?"

"You have 2 thick, long, deep slash wounds diagonally placed along your chest and abdomen. They are parallel to each other," Aleera stated. Peidro raised an eyebrow in apparent amusement. "Plus, you have many other cuts throughout your back and arms, but those pale in comparison to these horrible slashes," she continued, pointing at his chest.

"Well… that sounds interesting. Now I actually want to look at them," Peidro smirked, leaving Aleera shocked and dumbfounded. "But not right now. First, tell me how and where you found me. And I would also like to know where I'm at."

"Actually, I want to know why there's a face floating in my room. What device is this? How does it work?" Aleera questioned, pointing towards Tafariel. Peidro turned.

"This is what we call a Universal Transceiver," Peidro replied, earning another warning glare from Tafariel. He gave her a soothing look and waved his right hand slowly, almost imperceptibly. She seemed placated by this gesture. She knew that he knew what he was doing. He wouldn't allow their true identities to be revealed to a normal human girl.

"A Universal Transceiver?" repeated Aleera, brows raised. "What's that? And who's _we_?"

"The Universal Transceiver, or UT, is a planetary communication device that my kingdom uses to communicate across vast distances. The range of this device is incredible. It allows us to communicate across the entire planet like this," Peidro explained, pointing towards the portal. "When you use the UT, the person who you are communicating with appears like that, with only the face showing. They only see your face, as well. It's a rather useful device, if you ask me. This thing has saved my ass on numerous occasions due to its Instant Lock-on feature, or IL."

"Instant Lock-on?" further queried Aleera, narrowing her eyes slightly. He seemed to be avoiding her last question. Peidro nodded.

"Yes, Instant Lock-on. It's like a Global Positioning System, or GPS. Have you heard of that before?" Aleera shook her head. He smiled slightly. "Well, what the IL does is locate whoever you're searching for. The range of this feature is the same as the UT. It works by focusing on a special point possessed by every living being called an Energy Signature."

Noticing Aleera's confused look, Peidro continued, "An Energy Signature is, at its simplest, Energy. It's known by many different names. A few of these are Ki, Latent Energy, Fighting Power, and Life Force. We know it by two names. One of them, obviously, is Energy, while the other is Vim Vitae. Well, this energy is special. Like I said, every single living being on this planet possesses this kind of energy, including us. You can use energy to increase your speed and strength for battle. You can also use energy to create special attacks called Energy Blasts. Every energy signature is unique, meaning that there are billions of different energy signatures on this planet as we speak. Cool, huh?"

Aleera nodded, surprised and attempting to grasp this entirely new concept of Energy. To a certain extent, it sounded similar to Devil Fruits, but she wasn't entirely sure just how similar these two things were, and there sure as hell weren't billions of different devil fruits. Energy did have a major similarity to Haki, though. According to her father, every living being in the world possesses Haki, but not everyone knows how to use it. Maybe it's the same thing for Energy, as well.

_'So, this means that Peidro and Tafariel possess Haki as well as I do. I wonder which kind of Haki Peidro has control of. Maybe he can control all 3 kinds of Haki, from Observation to the legendary Conqueror's Haki possessed by only one in a million people,_' thought Aleera. _'If he can control the Conqueror's Haki, I wonder how strong it actually is.'_

"Well," Peidro continued, snapping Aleera out of her train of thought, "The Instant Lock-on feature of the UT locates people by focusing on the specific energy signature that the target releases. Once locked on, you get the exact location of your target and the status."

"Wow… that's cool!" Aleera said, her eyes shining. She narrowed them almost instantly afterwards. "But you haven't answered one question. Who's we? And you mentioned a kingdom. Tell me about it."

"An observant one, huh?" Peidro smirked. "Okay, here goes. I'm a king and a warrior."

Aleera covered her mouth with her hands in shock. "You're a k-king?" 'This is unbelievable! This must mean that he can use Conqueror's Haki!'

"Yeah," Peidro replied simply.

"Aren't you a little young to be a king?" Aleera questioned.

"Well, how old do I look to you?" Peidro retorted.

"Um, you look like you're in your early twenties," replied Aleera softly.

"And you're right. I'm 26, actually," Peidro lied, smirking slightly. _'I don't think she'll believe me if I tell her that I'm over 15 million years old.'_

"Wow… how did you become king at such a young age?" Aleera asked, interest flaring up in her intense red eyes.

"It's a long story. I think that's something for later," Peidro replied, making Aleera pout slightly in disappointment. "I think I've spoken enough. Tell me about yourself. I would like to know a bit about the lady who took care of me."

"Well, where do I start?" Aleera wondered, placing her hand on her chin.

"How about your age?" Peidro suggested.

"Okay. I'm 18 years old," Aleera began, sitting down on her couch. Peidro followed suit. Tafariel listened intently, but there was slight anxiety present in her sapphire eyes. Noticing this, Peidro gave her a questioning look, but she didn't seem to notice it.

"I live by myself here in this little village. It's called Oni Village, by the way," Aleera continued, attracting Peidro's attention and earning a small nod from him. "My mother died when I was born, and my father left me here with a trusted friend of his when I was 5 years old. He's currently a pirate sailing the Grand Line. Have you seen the picture there on top of the counter?"

Aleera pointed towards the furniture next to her bedroom door. Peidro nodded and gestured for Aleera to continue.

"Well, that's my dad. His name is Shanks. He's the captain of the Red-Haired Pirates. He's very famous. He's one of the Four Emperors of the New World, the four most powerful pirates on the entire planet," she stated rather proudly. Peidro raised his brows, interested in this little bit of information. If what she said is correct, this Shanks must be one of the higher power levels he sensed earlier.

"Do you have any hard feelings towards him for leaving you here?" inquired Peidro, slight curiosity present in his tone.

"No, of course not!" Aleera replied, chuckling lightly. "In fact, I dream of the day I can set sail into the Grand Line and become a great pirate just like him. And later on, I'll maybe become one of the Four Emperors, if not the Pirate Queen!"

"Well, that's a great dream to have," replied Peidro, eyeing her closely. "And how exactly do you become Pirate Queen?"

"Oh, that's easy!" said Aleera enthusiastically. "All you have to do is find the legendary treasure of the deceased great pirate king Gold Roger, the One Piece!"

"That sounds easier said than done. Do you know where this treasure is?" Peidro inquired, raising his brows slightly.

Aleera looked down slightly, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Well, no, I don't know where it is. But there have been many rumors that it's hidden in the island of Raftel, the last island of the Grand Line," she replied, perking up slightly.

"Rumors, eh? So, basically, you are basing your entire dream of becoming Pirate Queen on rumors? Interesting…" Peidro muttered, looking towards Tafariel.

Aleera was visibly not pleased with this comment. She looked at Peidro for a few seconds and then looked away, frowning slightly. Peidro didn't notice it until he looked at her. He then gave her an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that, honestly," he said softly, standing up, towering over her. "Not once did it cross my mind that my statement would sound like an insult to you and your dream. Forgive me."

Peidro bowed slightly towards Aleera, his right hand on his stomach and his left hand extended away from his body. She could only look at him in surprise, a slight blush creeping towards her cheeks.

"I… N-No one has ever… bowed to me like that," she stammered, standing up as well, her eyes never leaving Peidro's sharp brown ones. "Especially not a king like you."

He gave her a small smile and he ruffled his short, spiky black hair slightly. "Well, I can't believe that someone as pretty as you hasn't had anyone bow to you," he said simply, earning a more pronounced blush from Aleera. Aleera opened her mouth a few times to reply, but no sound would come out.

"Thanks," she replied meekly after a little while, still blushing brightly.

Peidro smiled. "No problem," he replied, his eyes locking with Aleera's for a few seconds. She smiled lightly and looked away.

"Tafariel, is something wrong?" asked Aleera suddenly, prompting Peidro to turn towards his advisor. She still had an anxious look on her eyes, and she was biting her lip slightly.

"Tafariel?" prompted Peidro. "Go ahead. State whatever's bothering you."

"My lord… do you remember what I told you before Aleera came in?" Tafariel asked. Peidro nodded.

"Yes. You said that there was something crucial pertaining to Universe 25," Peidro replied. Realizing his slipup and noticing the harsh glare Tafariel gave him, he face palmed and said, "Sorry, I meant this planet. My bad, Tafariel."

"Universe 25?" Aleera asked softly. Now Tafariel was giving Peidro a death glare. However, instead of flinching as Tafariel intended him to do, he laughed it off.

"It's nothing, Aleera. Don't worry about it," he replied nonchalantly. Aleera looked at him suspiciously.

"Well, back to what we were talking about. Tafariel, please tell me what's going on. What has you so worried about the planet?" Peidro asked Tafariel, ignoring Aleera's stare.

Tafariel hesitated for a few seconds. "Can I tell you this privately?" she asked.

"Is it that serious?" Peidro replied, smirking.

"My lord, this is a matter of life and death," Tafariel answered seriously. Peidro's smile disappeared, replaced by a serious frown. Matters of life and death were of vital importance to Peidro.

"Is it about that place?" asked Peidro, emphasizing the last two words. Tafariel nodded grimly.

"Very well," he replied. He turned to Aleera. "Aleera, I know it's your house. But can you please allow me to speak privately with Tafariel?" he asked her, forcing a small smile.

"Um, sure, Peidro… no problem," Aleera replied, a worried expression on her face. "Is everything alright? What's wrong with the planet?"

"Don't worry about it, Aleera. There's nothing wrong with the planet. All is well. Okay?" Peidro attempted to calm Aleera, but his serious tone and forced smile did not help at all.

Aleera gave Peidro a questioning look. When it seemed that she was about to argue, she nodded. She made her way towards the coat hanger.

"Alright, Peidro. I'll be outside." she said, grabbing her cloak and her katana. "Let me know when you're done. I want to check on your wounds. Okay?"

"Sounds like a plan," Peidro replied. His eyes were glued on Aleera until she exited through the front door of the small house. When the door closed, he turned towards Tafariel, a cold look in his eyes.

"Alright, Tafariel, tell me. What's going on?" he asked. "This must be something very serious if you're acting like this."

"It is, my lord. Trust me, it is," Tafariel answered anxiously.

"Well, what are you waiting for?! Tell me!" Peidro nearly shouted.

Tafariel hesitated once again, earning an angry sigh from Peidro.

"My lord, you are in terrible danger along with the planet. We have detected that a large batch of Hell's Embers is headed straight towards that planet," Tafariel stated quickly.

"WHAT?!" Peidro shouted, his eyes widening. "Hell's Embers? Tafariel, you must be kidding. There is no possible way that the Hell's Embers could be here! It's only known location is in the entrance of the Pits of Inferno. And even there it's very rare. Are you sure about this?"

"My lord, I'm very sure. The sensors don't lie," Tafariel confirmed, causing Peidro to growl in anger.

"Damn it! When is it going to arrive? How big is this batch?" He asked quickly, clenching his fists.

"The batch is large enough to kill 20 adult Super Demonicus with ease. And it's set to arrive in 2 years," Tafariel uttered, looking away from Peidro. It was obvious that her anxiety level was increasing quickly, as if she feared Peidro's answer.

"You have to be shitting me!" Peidro shouted, his energy flaring up, causing the floor to shake and a fiery red aura to surround him. His eyes began to glow a blood-red color. Tafariel gasped in shock.

"My lord, please calm down! Lord Peidro, please stop!" Tafariel cried anxiously.

Hearing her anxious cries, Peidro stopped powering up. He stood there, breathing heavily, trying to bring down his energy output.

Peidro clutched his chest with his right hand immediately after calming down. Immense pain shot throughout his entire chest and abdomen, and he tasted blood in his mouth. He fell to his right knee and left hand, his right one still on his chest and growling harshly in pain. A slender hand appeared and covered Tafariel's mouth. She seemed on the verge of tears.

"My lord, are you alright?!" she cried brokenly. "Stay there. I will go get you right now!"

She seemed to be doing something, but when Peidro raised his right hand, she immediately stopped, her eyes glued on him.

"Damn… the wounds have really taken their toll on me… Fuck!" Peidro snarled forcefully, spitting blood on the floor. "Tafariel, do not come! Stay where you are."

Tafariel opened her mouth to argue, but Peidro beat her to it, "Listen to me Tafariel. I'm going to stay in this universe and wait for the Hell's Embers. I will stop it by any means possible, even if it kills me. You just do what I assigned you to do. Keep your eyes on Universe 09 and report to me weekly. Understood?"

"No, my lord! Please reconsider!" Tafariel answered. Aleera walked in suddenly with an anxious expression on her face. Peidro did not notice her walk in.

"There will be no reconsidering, Tafariel! I am the King of Hell!" Peidro shouted, standing up slowly, wincing in pain. "Everything having to do with that universe is my responsibility! I'm a Demonicus! If there is a batch of Hell's Embers headed towards this planet as we speak, then it is my job to stop it!"

Tafariel looked at him, wide-eyed, then away from him, towards the front door. Noticing this, Peidro did the same. When he saw Aleera there, staring at him with a horrified expression, he rolled his eyes, sighed heavily and placed his left hand on his forehead.

_'Damn… I shouldn't have said that with that much conviction,'_ Peidro thought.

"You… y-you're t-the K-King of H-H-Hell?" Aleera stammered, stepping back when he tried to approach her.

"Damn… Tafariel, thanks for the warning. You can rest assured. I will be fine," he said, turning towards Tafariel and giving her a small, reassuring smile.

"Very well, my lord," Tafariel replied, wiping a few tears that fell from her eyes. "I know everything will be alright. It is you, after all. Take care, my lord. I will report to you next week at this time."

"Sounds like a plan," he said, giving her a thumbs-up.

With that, the portal suddenly burst into intense flames that shrank quickly until they completely disappeared. Some of the heat released by the flames lingered through the air. Sighing deeply once again, Peidro turned towards Aleera.

"Aleera…" he began.

"Don't talk to me!" she shouted, taking a few steps away from him. "Get away from me, you monster!"

"Aleera, I'm not going to hurt you…" Peidro said, attempting to sound soothing, but failing due to the iciness mixed in his voice. He had inexplicable anger flowing through him. He blamed it on the Hell's Embers and on his wounds.

"How do I know that?" she yelled, unsheathing her katana. "You're a demon! You come from the most horrifying place known to mankind! You just want to destroy everything! I'll kill you!"

Holding the katana with her two hands, she lunged at him, a war cry escaping her lips. She closed her eyes while slashing horizontally, but opened them immediately after her attack was blocked by something. She was utterly shocked when she saw that he blocked her attack with his left hand. Moreover, he was unharmed by her attack. Not a single drop of blood was shed by the blade of her sword.

_'This can't be. How did he block my attack with his bare hand?'_ thought Aleera desperately. _'I am wielding one of the 12 Saijo O Wazamono swords. His hand should have been severed cleanly! Did he use Haki?'_

Peidro gave Aleera a death glare, causing her blood to run cold. With his left hand still on the blade, he pushed her back. She flew halfway across the living room before falling on her back near the coat hanger. Aleera propped herself back up with her elbows, growling slightly, her sword in her right hand.

_'Holy crap, he's strong!'_ she thought. _'How the hell did he do that? He's injured! If he did that with apparent ease, something tells me that this is nowhere near his full strength.'_

Aleera was just about to get up when Peidro appeared right in front of her. She cried in shock when he grabbed her shirt with his left hand, lifted her and then slammed her into the wall, pinning her there. The impact caused her to drop her sword.

Aleera cried in pain then glared daggers at Peidro. He returned the glare.

"Kill me, you damn monster!" she screamed, flailing her arms at him. "Do it!"

Peidro did nothing but hold her in place. Aleera stopped hitting him and looked him straight in the eyes. Something about his eyes made her stop. She couldn't pinpoint what, though.

Suddenly, Peidro threw his right hand away from his body and almost closed it, as if he was grasping something. Fire began to appear in his hands, shocking Aleera. She stared, wide-eyed, at the flames that were beginning to take the shape of… a sword's hilt.

Aleera whimpered softly when a pitch-black hilt solidified before her eyes as the flames progressed further away from his hand. When the flames reached the hand guard, they went in separate directions and began to form what seemed like devil wings. When the flames left that section of his sword, the wings were pitch-black like the hilt, but there were three spikes on both ends that were blood-red and they pointed towards the forming blade. The top half of a black horned skull was right at the center of the hand guard on both sides of the blade, with the upper teeth of the skull forming a circle right at the center. A blood-red orb was right in between the teeth.

Aleera could only stare with a horrified expression at the finished product of the flames. The blade of the sword was just like the hilt and hand guard. It was a predominantly pitch-black colored wide split blade. Close to the hand guard, there was a pointy edge on the sharp side of the blade, then it leveled out until close to the top, where there was a wider edge, giving the sword a much more menacing look. Intricate blood-red designs ran throughout the entirety of the blade.

Peidro brought up his sword to Aleera's neck with blinding speed. Aleera gasped, expecting a very hot blade to touch her skin. But she was met with a rather cold blade, as if the flames that spawned it failed to leave any heat on it.

"So you are going to kill me…" she stated coldly. "As expected from a demon."

"Tell me something, Aleera," Peidro retorted, just as cold. "Why the fuck would I kill the person that saved my life? The person that spent days of her life caring for some unconscious wounded stranger she found in the middle of a burnt forest clearing while on her daily training routines. Tell me. _Why_?!"

"H-How do you know that?" Aleera asked, horrified.

"I read your mind, Aleera. I read your mind!" Peidro shouted at her. With that, he took away his sword from her neck and released his vice grip on her, which began to get painfully tight. She slowly slid down to the ground, donning an appalled expression once again. Her eyes were glued to the ground and she hugged her legs close to her chest.

Peidro sighed heavily. Flames surrounded his sword once again and disintegrated it. He crouched right in front of Aleera.

"Peidro…" she began shakily.

"Aleera," Peidro interrupted, now kneeling and lifting her chin with his thumb and index finger. "I would never hurt you Aleera. Without you, I would be dead right now! You are the reason I'm alive right now. I owe you my life, and you have my gratitude. Do you think I would repay the person that saved my life by hurting her?"

Aleera looked up at him, not believing what she just heard. Never in her life has she heard or read of a demon showing gratitude or not hurting someone. She just couldn't believe it. If someone were to tell her that there actually were demons like this, she would call him crazy. The concept of this was just plain unorthodox, not to mention impossible. But it was happening. One of the most evil beings in existence was actually now kneeling in front of her telling her that he wouldn't hurt her and that she had his gratitude for saving his life. And the sincerity in his eyes was overwhelming. It crossed her mind many times that these past few days were just a dream… an extremely realistic and long dream.

She shivered slightly when she felt him caress her chin softly. It looked like she wanted to say something, but kept hesitating to do so.

"Do you… do you mean it?" Aleera finally asked, rather brokenly. "You're not going to hurt me?"

"Of course I mean it, Aleera," Peidro replied, smirking lightly. She locked eyes with him.

"I don't understand," she stated. "I mean, you're a demon, not to mention the king of them all. Why are you showing gratitude to a mere human like me? Why don't you want to hurt me? I've been told that demons are the most evil beings in existence."

"Don't believe everything people say, Aleera," Peidro said, a small smile still on his face. "It's much better to find things out yourself. You're not just a 'mere human' like you stated. I see great potential in you, and I am compelled to help you reach that. That's why I'm not hurting you."

Aleera smiled back at him. Peidro now stood up, towering ever more greatly over her in her current position. He extended his right hand towards her, which she shakily took. With inhuman speed, Aleera was back on her feet, the dust on her clothes being patted off by Peidro. She blushed brightly when he accidentally hit her butt.

"Sorry about that," he said, backing away with his hands held up. "You should do that yourself."

"Yeah…" she said, still blushing. "Thanks."

"For what?" he inquired.

"For not hurting me and for offering to help me reach the potential you see in me," she replied, locking eyes with him once more.

Peidro closed his eyes for a moment. When Aleera was about to ask if something was wrong, he placed his hand on her shoulders, opened his eyes and gave her a genuine smile.

"No problem, Aleera," he said.

Out of pure whim, Aleera wrapped her arms around Peidro's waist and buried her face in his chest. Initially surprised by this, Peidro reciprocated the gesture, chuckling slightly.

The moment was interrupted when an elderly man burst into the house, breathing heavily. It became apparent that this man had come from a fair distance in a full sprint. He was sweating all over, and his soaked solid blue T-shirt and shorts was evidence of it. His white hair was messy all over as well. His brown shoes had leaves and small twigs all over them, hinting that he was in a dense forest or forest path.

Aleera lifted her face from Peidro's chest, never breaking the embrace. When she recognized the old man, Aleera broke the hug and rushed to him. Peidro stood there, surveying the man expressionlessly.

"Lorenzo, are you okay?" asked Aleera worriedly. "What's going on?"

"Aleera…" Lorenzo huffed, his hands on his knees and his chest heaving. He looked up at her with a scared expression. "P-Pirates! Here in the village!"

"Pirates?" Aleera repeated. Peidro raised a brow, interested.

"Yes, Aleera. Pirates are here on the island!" Lorenzo confirmed. "And they are not just any pirates! They're the Straw Hat Pirates!"

"The Straw Hat Pirates?!" Aleera repeated again, shocked. Peidro now faced Aleera and Lorenzo fully. His interest had grown considerably when he saw Aleera's reaction to the mere mention of these pirates.

"Are these pirates strong?" inquired Peidro with a bored tone.

"Strong is an understatement. Their captain, Straw Hat Luffy, has a bounty of 30 million belis!" Lorenzo nearly shouted, gawking at Peidro's indifferent expression.

"I'm guessing that's a lot of money," spoke Peidro. Lorenzo nodded quickly.

"That doesn't matter," said Aleera, picking up her sword. "I'm going to the village. Peidro, stay here. I'll be back."

"Nah, I think I'll go with you," Peidro replied. Aleera looked at him, surprised.

"Why?" she asked, ready to argue and give reasons why he shouldn't go.

"I just want to see how strong they really are."

* * *

_**Thanks for reading!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Here's Chapter 3! **_

_**I had a lot of fun and a bit of a hard time writing this chapter. But, I enjoyed it! I hope y'all do so too!**_

_**Read and Review, please!**_

* * *

**Chapter 3: Peidro vs. the Straw Hat Pirates**

"You're not being serious, right?" asked Lorenzo, gaping at Peidro. Peidro laughed softly.

"Oh, I'm being totally serious," Peidro replied, making Lorenzo squeak softly. "Besides, I think Aleera might need a little help. I'm not saying you're weak, mind you." He raised his hand, halting Aleera's obviously angry retort. "It's just that you're going to be fighting an entire crew. So it's better to have safety in numbers. Am I correct?" He now raised both of his hands, his palms facing him, as if daring either Aleera or Lorenzo to prove him wrong.

Aleera begrudgingly nodded. "What about your wounds? When I came in after the tremor, I saw you on your knees, with blood coming out of your mouth," Aleera reminded Peidro. He laughed again, slightly louder this time.

"That was nothing. I have suffered worse wounds than that and still fought at my best," he boasted proudly, waving his right hand.

'_Well, the fact that you're a demon would justify that boast," _Aleera thought, slightly bemused and with half-lidded eyes. They widened immediately afterwards. _'Oh crap! I forgot he can read minds!'_

She hoped he hadn't read her mind that very moment. And to her relief, it seemed he didn't. Peidro was focused on Lorenzo, and it seemed Lorenzo was trying to convince Peidro to not go. But he just kept blatantly refusing, always coming up with the excuse that she needed help. Growing a little tired of the argument and slightly anxious, she decided to interrupt.

"Alright…" she voiced, cutting them both off and making them look at her. "Peidro, come with me. I hate to admit it, but I will need your help."

"It would be a pleasure to fight alongside you," Peidro said, bowing. Aleera blushed slightly.

"Alright, alright," she muttered, walking towards the door. "Let's go now."

Peidro nodded and followed suit. Lorenzo seemed like he was going to speak, but he didn't say anything.

"By the way, Lorenzo, the food is done, so you can dig in anytime," Aleera said, her back on Lorenzo. He nodded.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Aleera and Peidro stepped outside and were greeted by a small porch. The porch was made of brown wood, and the wooden rails that surrounded it were white. There were chairs to the right and to the left of the door, and they faced diagonally towards each other. Beyond the porch was a thin dirt path that curved to the right and led to a forest. Short grass grew around the path close to the porch, but it steadily became bigger and thicker until it was knee-length weed at the entrance to the thick foliage.

"It seems that you live away from the village," Peidro noted. "Why?"

"It's peaceful here. And I get to do my training without having much interruption," Aleera replied, sheathing her katana. "Follow me."

"Wait."

Aleera turned around and surveyed Peidro, who had his face scrunched in concentration.

"What is it? Having second thoughts?" she mocked slightly.

"Nope," he replied, smiling. "Instead of running through the thick forest to get to the village and waste precious time, why not take a better mode of transportation?"

"Because it's the only way of getting to the village," Aleera stated, making her way to the forest.

"Nope," he said once again, his smile growing. "There's other ways."

"Do tell," she answered, stopping and looking slightly confused.

"There's flying," he suggested, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Could you say that again?" Aleera asked, clearly not expecting that suggestion. "Flying? Are you crazy? I can't fly!"

"You can't, but I can," he said, his tone unchanged.

Aleera just looked at him disbelievingly. That couldn't be possible… then again, he was a demon, a nice one at that, so now, in her book, anything was possible.

"Show me," she challenged, placing her hands on her slim waist.

"Oh, I will," he replied, walking towards her. She was shocked when he suddenly wrapped his right arm around her waist and pressed her body tightly to his muscular one.

"Wha-What are you doing?" she nearly shrieked, blushing heavily.

She tried to push herself away, but to no avail. He was just too strong.

"I suggest you hold on tight," Peidro spoke. "This might get bumpy." He laughed while Aleera nodded and did as she was told.

"Here goes…" he announced. Aleera tightened her grip.

Suddenly, something began to flow through the pair. Aleera felt it coursing through her, giving her a slight tingling sensation. She was shocked to see a gust of wind surrounding them, picking up dust and causing the leaves to sway harshly. She felt Peidro moving. A bigger shock came when she saw that they were surrounded by a fiery red aura. But it didn't burn her. All she felt was… power. Immense power was flowing through the body of the man holding her to his chest. It was indescribable.

_'So this is energy,' _Aleera thought, amazed.

She closed her eyes in surprise, let out a small yelp, and tightened her grip even more when she suddenly felt a gust of air pushing her down. Then, out of nowhere, it stopped. It happened so fast. One second, the gust was pushing her down with all of its might, and the next, it was gone. Just like that.

Aleera opened her eyes slowly, expecting to see her house and Peidro's laughing face telling her that it was all just a prank. But her house wasn't there. Instead, her eyes were greeted with a vast horizon of waves rolling and crashing on the blue sea, sparkling with the yellow sunlight. The salty oceanic breeze hit her fully and made her cloak flow with it. The bright blue sky and white puffy clouds seemed ever closer to her now. She then looked down to see how high they were. It was a bad idea.

She squeaked in surprise and accidentally released her grip on Peidro. She screamed when she thought she was going to fall to the ground, only to feel Peidro's strong arm around her waist remind her that he was still there. Quickly wrapping her arms around him again, she looked up. She was met with Peidro's face looking at her, a surprisingly warm smile on his face, the fiery red aura still flaming in the background, creating a picture perfect moment. He gestured for her to look around. She did, and it was a wonderful experience.

"Oh… my… God!" she squealed delightfully. "I can't believe it! I really am flying!"

"Yes you are, Aleera," Peidro said. "Enjoying the view?"

"I love it," she replied, still absorbing her surroundings. "I've never been this close to the sky in my life. I feel like I can touch it!"

"Well, tough luck. This is the only time you get a free ride," he growled playfully.

"Hey!" she pouted. "You better teach me how to fly!"

"I'll think about it," he replied, a playfully thoughtful expression on his face. When he saw her glare at him, he laughed. "Fine. I'll teach you. But not right now. First, we have to take care of these pirates."

"Right. The village is that way," she announced, pointing downwards towards their east.

He nodded. The fiery red aura disappeared, attracting Aleera's attention. The energy flowing through them diminished considerably. His eyes were closed, and a serene expression dominated his handsome features. Aleera stared at him in awe. Though it was set just a while ago that Peidro was probably one of the nicest demons in existence, along with Tafariel, it was still incredible to see how handsome and peaceful he looked with his eyes closed. Even the large, elaborate scar he had on the right side of his face seemed to add to his overall appeal. Fragile was a word that she could honestly add to the way his visage looked.

Without warning, they began to descend to the ground… fast.

"P-Peidro! W-W-What are y-you d-doing?!" Aleera shouted shrilly, her grip on Peidro's waist tightening even more. He didn't seem to mind. In fact, he smiled, his eyes still closed.

'_This is it. I'm dead,'_ thought Aleera.

Then, just before they hit the tree canopy, Peidro's energy surged, enveloping the both of them in the fiery red aura once again. They stopped instantly and then rocketed towards the village. Through her screaming, Aleera kept her eyes open to witness the whole event. All she could see was a large green blur that just sped below her, until it became gray with brown. They had arrived at the village.

"Hey, head over there! Head to the village plaza!" Aleera screamed over the powerful gusts of wind, pointing towards a small clearing in the middle of the village.

Peidro nodded once again and turned towards that direction. He could see dumbstruck faces and hear a couple of panicked screams. He didn't blame them. Seeing two people flying at great speed surrounded by a fiery red aura was not an everyday thing in this planet, it seemed.

"How do you know they're going to be here?" Peidro inquired as they landed, surveying the plaza. Many pairs of eyes were glued on them, and most of them seemed to radiate shock and surprise. Murmuring was audible throughout the villagers. Aleera shrugged.

"It's just a hunch," Aleera replied. Peidro face palmed.

'_I'd rather sense them myself, but I've never met them, so I'm blind right now,' _Peidro thought, sighing deeply.

"There!" shouted Aleera, snapping Peidro out of his train of thought and earning confused stares from some of the villagers. She had her finger pointed towards the crowd. Peidro looked in that direction; he discerned a small group of people running away from the plaza, heading to an unknown location.

"They're headed towards the harbor! Let's go!" shouted Aleera once again, grabbing Peidro's right wrist, attempting to drag him with her. Peidro didn't budge, though. She turned and looked at him urgently. He only stood there, staring in the direction the small group ran off to.

"Peidro, come on! Let's go!" Aleera said urgently. "Or they'll get away from us!"

"They will not…" Peidro stated softly. Aleera shivered a little. The iciness in his voice was back and so was his death glare. Only this time, she could swear she saw a glint of red in his brown eyes.

Suddenly, he grabbed Aleera with his left hand, brought her to his chest, surrounded himself in the blazing aura, and rocketed to the sky towards the harbor. Aleera was entirely surprised by the speed in which these events occurred.

'_Holy crap, that was fast!' _she thought, eyeing him with awe. '_Just how fast is he?'_

For what seemed to be one second, they were in the air, and the next, they were on the ground, in an empty street, with six pairs of wide eyes looking at them. There were three men, two women and one small… reindeer? Peidro studied the little creature, which cowered slightly under his glare. It had a pink top hat with a white "x" in front of it and carried a small blue backpack on his shoulders. Peidro then returned his attention towards the whole group.

"Peidro, would you warn me next time you do that!" Aleera shrieked, wrenching away from Peidro. Peidro ignored her and kept his eyes on the stunned group of people, a small, evil smile appearing on his face.

"Peidro, are you even listening to me?" Aleera continued ranting, but stopped when she turned and actually took in the situation they were in. She gasped slightly. They were right in front of the Straw Hat Pirates.

"So… you are the famous Straw Hat Pirates…" Peidro stated, rather murderously. He surveyed the group of six people, beginning with the one closest to him, whom Peidro guessed was the captain. He was as tall as Aleera, with short, messy black hair, beady black eyes and a straw hat on his head. He had a horizontal scar on his left cheek, right under his eye. He wore a red vest buttoned up on his skinny body and blue shorts with sandals. His surprised expression was now blank.

"You're Straw Hat Luffy, aren't you?" Peidro asked the teenager coldly, already knowing the answer. But he didn't respond. He just stood there, staring at him with the same blank expression. Peidro glared at the teenager attentively.

"Yeah, he is. What's it to you?" replied one of the men gruffly, snapping Peidro's attention to the owner of the voice. He was taller than Luffy, but still shorter than Peidro. He had green hair, three earrings on his left ear, and a scowl on his face. He wore a white t-shirt, an armband on his left sleeve, a green haramaki and black trousers tucked in his black boots. He had 3 sheathed katanas on his right hip on top of the haramaki. He had his hands on two of his swords.

"Good…" replied Peidro, suddenly taking off his trench coat, earning confused stares from everyone.

"O-Oi, what are you doing?" the guy stuttered, earning an evil smile from Peidro.

"Nothing, Roronoa Zoro… nothing," he replied, making everyone gasp.

"H-How do you know my name?!" shouted Zoro. Peidro's smile only widened.

"I read your mind…" Peidro answered simply, earning even more gasps.

"W-What the…" Zoro began.

"I challenge you, Straw Hat Pirates," Peidro interrupted. "All of you against one man. How does that sound?"

"Peidro, what the hell!" shouted Aleera, stomping towards Peidro. She jabbed a finger at his chest. "Don't forget that I'm here too! And don't you dare forget that you are wounded!"

"Pssht, you must have a death wish…" Zoro smirked. "You stand no chance against all of us alone. Especially if you are wounded."

"Oh, really?" challenged Peidro. Suddenly, his trench coat burst into flames, shocking everyone. Aleera shrieked and backed away from him. He began to move the trench coat in circles, surrounding himself in flames. Everyone looked expectantly at the vortex of flames until they died down, revealing a bare-chested Peidro. Aleera gasped, blushed slightly, and looked away.

'_Damn it, Peidro. You just had to burn your bandages off,' _thought Aleera.

Everyone eyed Peidro in shock and realized that Aleera wasn't lying. He really _was_ wounded, and _terribly_.

Peidro looked down at his wounds for the first time. He eyed the large, deep gashes Aleera described first. She was right… they were terrible wounds. One of them started on his left pectoral, close to his shoulder, and extended down diagonally all the way to his right oblique area. The other one began right under his left pectoral and extended in the same diagonal direction towards his right hip. The end of that wound could not be seen due to Peidro's pants. Then, he noticed the other multitude of small cuts and abrasions throughout the rest of his body. They were tiny in comparison to those monster gashes he had.

He grinned slightly as he examined the main wounds closely. They seemed to have closed… mostly. He could still see a bit of blood flowing out of certain sections of the wounds, but nothing too life-threatening.

"Aleera, you were right," Peidro began, causing Aleera to jump slightly and turn to him, blushing madly. "They are terrifying wounds. But I like them!"

Everyone, even the blushing Aleera and expressionless Luffy, blanched when they heard those words. They looked at him as if he were a madman.

"O-O-Oi, L-L-Luffy, th-th-this guy is r-r-really c-c-creeping m-m-me o-out!" stuttered the last of the guys. His legs were shaking all over while he said it. He was slightly taller and skinnier than Luffy, had slightly darker skin, an abnormally long nose, and medium-length curly black hair. He had weird-looking goggles on his head, worn over an olive-green plaid bandanna, a blue and white striped armband on his left arm, brown overalls with no shirt with a white sash tied around his middle, brown boots and a satchel strapped on his shoulder.

The little reindeer thing joined the trembling teenager, exhibiting similar behavior. Smirking slightly, Peidro walked towards Luffy. The coward and the reindeer cried in fear, their tongues nearly flying out and their eyes wider than humanly possible.

'_Cowards,' _Peidro mused. '_I'll give them just a small taste of my power.'_

Peidro unleashed a surge of energy, causing a small, but harsh gust of wind to blow towards the Straw Hat Crew. Everyone shivered, even Aleera, who had felt his energy surges a few times already. The two frightened members just seemed to get worse.

"G-G-Get a-a-away from h-here! Or I w-w-will call m-m-my massive c-c-crew of 50,000 m-m-men!" shouted the trembling teenager. "I am t-t-t-the g-g-great C-C-Captain U-U-Usopp! F-Fear me, or f-f-face e-e-eternal p-p-pain!"

"Eternal pain? Sounds very intriguing, liar," countered Peidro, laughing internally at Usopp's stupidity. '_Does he really expect me to fall for such a lie?'_

Usopp blanched at Peidro's words. But Peidro's attention was no longer on him, but on one of the 2 women who had stepped forward.

"You're a Devil Fruit User, right?" she inquired squeakily. "What Devil Fruit did you eat?"

Peidro didn't answer. He only studied her from top to bottom. Her straight, chin-length orange hair accented her light skin and chocolate brown eyes rather beautifully. She had a slim and curvaceous body with a very well-developed chest, even more so than Aleera, but she was slightly shorter than her. She wore a plain white long-sleeve shirt, an orange mini-skirt with 2 darker-colored rings on either side of her hips, and high-heeled sandals. She had a wristwatch style compass thing on her left hand.

"Hey, creep, I'm talking to you!" she shouted at him. Peidro angered slightly. "What Devil Fruit did you eat?"

"Devil Fruit? I have not eaten such a thing," Peidro replied dismissively. The girl looked at him in disbelief.

"That's bullshit! You ate a Devil Fruit! I just know it! No human in this world can do what you just did without a Devil Fruit!" she retorted loudly. This only seemed to anger an already brutal-looking Peidro.

"O-Oi, Nami, I think we should not talk to him. He seems to be getting angrier," said the other girl nervously, walking towards the orange-haired girl. She had vividly colored light blue waist-length wavy hair with two chin-length bangs hanging down on either side of her face, brown eyes, and a well-proportioned body like Nami's and Aleera's, though less developed. She wore a purple shirt with blue sleeves, light blue skinny jeans and white shoes.

Nami seemed to be about to say something, but Peidro beat her to the punch, "So, what do you say, Luffy? Do you accept my challenge?"

"Luffy, don't!" shouted Nami frantically. "We don't know what kind of powers this creep has! Don't forget, we only came here for more supplies since you finished all the damn food we had! And also, we have to get to Alabasta to save Vivi's kingdom! We're not far away! You can fight all you want over there!"

Luffy didn't respond. He just looked down, his straw hat shielding his eyes from view. His lips were curved down slightly, but that didn't last long as they slowly curved up into a smile. He looked up and locked eyes with Peidro.

"Alright, I accept!" Luffy declared, lifting up his right arm and gripping his forearm with his left hand. Zoro smirked, while Usopp and the little reindeer blanched further, if that was even possible. Nami was seething and Vivi had a worried expression on her face.

"I did say your entire crew, but the ladies and the cowards over there don't have to fight," Peidro said, pointing towards Nami, Vivi, Usopp and the reindeer. "So how about a 2-on-2?"

"You mean you are going to let me fight?" Aleera asked, placing her left hand on her katana.

"Yeah, you take on the swordsman," Peidro replied, gesturing towards Zoro, who only smiled. "I am interested in the captain."

"Alright let's do this!" yelled Luffy, throwing his right arm back and running towards Peidro. The only thing is his arm stretched far more than a normal human arm. "_Gum-Gum_…"

"He's a Devil Fruit User…" Aleera remarked softly, smiling. "Just like me…"

"_PISTOL_!"

Luffy launched his outstretched fist straight at Peidro great speed. His punch made contact with Peidro's abdomen and blasted right through him. Aleera screamed in shock at Peidro's bent figure, but noticed something weird. There was no blood gushing out of him and he didn't seem to be in pain. Moreover, his entire image flickered slightly, as if it were a hologram. Then, he disappeared.

Everyone, including Luffy, who had just brought back his fist, searched frantically for Peidro. They searched the sky, the roofs of the houses surrounding them, and the small alleyways in between the houses. There was no sign of him.

"Luffy, he's definitely a Devil Fruit User," said Nami, inching closer to him. "It's hard to say what kind though, since he showed us a lot of different capabilities."

"Yeah," Luffy replied, turning around towards Nami, only to be met by a boot to the face. Peidro had appeared right behind Luffy.

Nami screamed and covered her mouth with her hands. Luffy cried in pain and was sent flying towards Aleera, whose eyes widened in shock and managed to sidestep the flying boy. Screams from Usopp, Vivi and the reindeer could be heard behind Peidro as Luffy crashed into a house not far away, destroying most of it and picking up large amounts of dust. Frightened screams could be heard from the dust.

Zoro gritted his teeth, pulled out two of his swords and was about to slash Peidro, but was blocked by Aleera.

"What the…" he said, backing away with a surprised expression on his face.

"You will not attack Peidro, Roronoa Zoro…" Aleera said, softly and dangerously. "I will be your opponent."

"Sounds good to me," Zoro smirked, removing his third sword from its sheath and placing it in his mouth. They began to duel, fiercely. Peidro eyed the fight with a small smile.

"_Gum-Gum Pistol_!"

Peidro turned in the direction of the shout when a fist smashed into his face, causing a large shockwave. He didn't even flinch. In fact, it only seemed to anger him more than he was. He gripped Luffy's hand with his left one and wrenched it away, making it retract towards him. Luffy was standing, seemingly unscathed, in the middle of the street, glaring at Peidro.

"So you're still standing, huh?" Peidro smirked.

"I'm a rubber man! Those kinds of attacks won't hurt me!" he shouted back. Peidro raised a brow, interested.

"And that was one of my weakest kicks…" Peidro remarked softly to himself. It was heard by Nami, though. She was standing close behind him, wide-eyed.

"Luffy, let's get out of here! He wasn't even trying with that kick!" shouted Nami.

"No, Nami! I accepted his challenge! Now I have to finish it! Find Sanji, and get to the ship!" replied Luffy.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that…" Peidro said, turning and walking towards Nami. She cowered and backed away from him, but froze when she hit something solid. She felt the object with her hands, and turned around to see it. She screamed in terror, tripped and fell on her butt. Peidro was standing right there, an evil smile growing on his face. Wincing in pain, she tried to back away from him to no avail. He kneeled and extended his right hand towards her.

"O-O-Oi, what are you doing?" asked Luffy. Nami turned towards Luffy.

"Luffy, help me!" she screamed frantically. "Please!"

"HEY!"

"This will not hurt a bit…" Peidro said softly, extending a finger towards Nami. She turned and looked at him in horror.

Then he felt it. A kick, decently powerful, was heading straight towards his face. Without looking, he raised his left arm and blocked the kick without difficulty, unleashing a shockwave slightly weaker than the one Luffy caused.

"Sanji!" Nami screamed with relief apparent in her voice.

"YOU BASTARD! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY NAMI?!" yelled Sanji. He was the owner of the kick. Smirking evilly, Peidro planted his finger in Nami's forehead. She cried shrilly in pain before slumping to the ground, unconscious.

Everyone froze, except Sanji, who had retracted his leg. Silence ruled the small battlefield. Even the duel between Zoro and Aleera had stopped, as they both were staring at Peidro in utter shock. Peidro laughed softly, growing slightly louder each second.

"NAMI!" everyone screamed in unison, with Peidro's laughs reaching a very high interval of volume and vileness.

"Peidro…" Aleera said softly, not believing what her eyes were witnessing. Zoro took advantage of the situation and pushed Aleera out of the way, heading towards Peidro.

"I'm sorry… we will have to continue our duel later…" he snarled, slightly muffled by the sword in his mouth.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY NAVIGATOR?!" roared Luffy, charging towards Peidro. He stopped laughing and glared at Luffy.

"Chopper, take Nami and Vivi to the ship… This bastard will learn not to mess with beautiful ladies!" Sanji growled, taking a fighting stance.

Peidro closed his eyes. "Aleera!"

She snapped out of her trance and looked at him. "Huh?"

"Help them…" he ordered, bending over to pick up Nami. Luffy and Zoro stopped dead in their tracks, confusion etched on their faces. "Help take Nami to their ship. I'll take care of these three."

"DON'T TOUCH MY NAMI, YOU BASTARD!" roared Sanji, lifting his right leg up in the air, and lashing it towards Peidro's head. Peidro blocked the kick easily once again with his left arm, and then pushed him off. Sanji back flipped before landing on his feet again. Peidro bent over fully and picked up Nami. He looked around and found Chopper the reindeer, who had taken a form resembling a gorilla larger and bulkier than Peidro. Brows raised in interest, Peidro made his way to Chopper with Nami in his arms.

"Here, Chopper…" he said softly, loud enough only for the reindeer to hear.

"What did you do to her?!" he squeaked in a high-pitched voice.

'_Wow, he's that big yet his voice is really high. Weird…' _thought Peidro.

"I did nothing, Chopper. She is only unconscious. There will be no serious effects to her health if that's what concerns you…" he whispered. "Aleera… help them…"

"But…" she began.

"No 'buts'!" he interrupted, turning to her. "Help them!"

Aleera stared at him for what seemed like an eternity with an unreadable expression. Just a few minutes ago, he challenged them all into a battle, had her duel their swordsman, who proved to be very strong, kicked the captain's face in with apparent ease, and somehow caused their navigator to faint. Moreover, he blocked Mr. Casanova's kicks with no effort at all! And now, he was asking her to help them? The King of Hell was proving to be quite an enigma… an enigma she was beginning to get determined to solve.

She nodded slowly. "Alright, Peidro… I will," she said. "Please, be careful…"

"Don't worry about me… worry about them," Peidro replied, gesturing towards Luffy, Sanji and Zoro. "Just remember who I really am."

"Okay," she replied, turning to Chopper and sheathing her katana. "Let's go, Chopper."

"Right!"

Chopper, along with Usopp, Vivi and Aleera, made their way towards the harbor. Aleera seemed to be examining the unconscious Nami. Peidro kept his eyes on them until they reached a fair distance. He then returned his attention to the situation at hand. Zoro still held his three swords, ready for attack. Sanji now stood next to Luffy, his curly brows twitching in anger. Luffy had his eyes shadowed by his straw hat once again.

"I give you my word, Straw Hat Luffy. Your Nami will be just fine. She is only unconscious. No major damage has been done to her. She should be up within the next 20 minutes." Peidro stated. "Well, shall we continue where we left off?"

"One question…" Luffy began, his eyes still covered by his hat. "How are you so sure that Nami will be okay?"

"Pssht, you make it sound like I don't know my own techniques, Luffy," Peidro answered. "The only thing that will most likely happen is that she will develop a fear of me. That's it."

Luffy gritted his teeth and looked up at Peidro, an intense glare on his black eyes. However, an even harsher glare and aura emanated from Sanji.

"Y-You… f-fucking… BASTARD!" roared Sanji, his voice quivering while he rushed at Peidro.

"O-Oi, Sanji!" Luffy yelled, but to no avail. Sanji had already jumped into the air and launched a kick at Peidro. Peidro smirked.

"I thought you already figured out that your attacks don't work!" Peidro yelled, avoiding Sanji's kick. Sanji's foot smashed into the ground, creating a small crater. He looked at Peidro with pure rage and tried to kick him with his other leg, but Peidro landed an insanely fast but strong kick to his gut. Sanji's eyes widened and he let out a small cry of pain before spitting out a bit of blood and flying back towards Luffy. Luffy charged towards Peidro, arms bent to his sides.

"_Gum-Gum… GATLING_!"

Luffy began to throw a barrage of punches at really high speed, giving the illusion of multiple arms. Peidro raised a brow and began to block every single punch directed at him with his forearms. Peidro then grabbed Luffy's fists, ending the attack.

"You said blunt-force attacks won't hurt you, right?" Peidro said. "Then how about this! _Force Shield_!"

Peidro's right knee began to take on a reddish aura. He pulled Luffy with great speed and slammed his knee into his gut. Luffy bent over, gasping in pain. Peidro then surrounded his fist in the same aura and smashed it into Luffy's face. Luffy could only cry in pain as he was sent into the sky.

Peidro disappeared from the ground and appeared right above Luffy, a small blue orb of energy forming in his hand.

"_Plasma Shot_…" Peidro called, placing the orb in Luffy's back and releasing it. Luffy instantly shot down, screaming until he crashed and was caught in a large explosion that destroyed some of the houses in the vicinity.

Zoro could only stare in shock as Peidro landed in front of him softly. He had moved so fast that he hadn't even realized that he had jumped so high in the air until he heard Luffy's scream. Peidro was right. Even wounded, he was giving them a hell of a fight. He placed two of his swords down, tied his green bandanna to his head, giving him a more menacing look, and got into position.

"_Three Sword Style: Oni Giri_!" he chanted, rushing towards Peidro. He slashed right through him, but he heard the sound of metal clashing while he did so. He turned around to see why there was a metal sound. His answer came very quickly. Peidro held a sword… a pitch-black one with blood-red designs running throughout the entirety of the blade. He seemed unscathed by his attack.

"So you're a swordsman, too?" Zoro asked, gritting his teeth. "Is there something you can't do?"

Peidro smirked and jumped in the air, holding his sword above his head.

"There are many things I can't do, Zoro. Let's just leave it at that," Peidro replied. "_Force Shield: Quaking Blade_!"

Peidro threw his sword straight at Zoro. His eyes widened in shock as he jumped away to avoid getting impaled. He noticed it was surrounded by the same aura that he used to strike Luffy. The sword didn't follow him. It only impaled into the ground.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake… violently. Zoro struggled to maintain his balance while he witnessed the houses around him crumble slightly. He couldn't believe his eyes. A single sword causing such a violent earthquake was impossible. He was sure that not even Dracule Mihawk, the greatest swordsman in the world, was capable of doing this. Then again, he managed to cut an entire ship in half with just one slash, so the possibility of him being able to cause an earthquake with his sword was there. Panicked screams of "Earthquake!" were audible throughout the village.

He looked up at Peidro. He slowly descended to the ground after the earthquake had mostly calmed down. He extended his right hand. The impaled sword flew from the ground right into his hand.

Peidro landed, his sword pointed towards Zoro. "Zoro, I know you know who's the strongest of the two here. Instead of risking great injury, help me take your two friends to the ship to receive treatment. In fact, I will deliver Luffy's treatment myself. I'm no doctor, but I know how to treat wounds caused by my techniques," Peidro said.

"Tch, I promised my captain that I would never lose or back away from a fight, no matter how strong the opponent is!" Zoro yelled. "So save your pity for the weak!"

"Well, you asked for it…" whispered Peidro.

"I'm not done with you…" said a voice behind Peidro. Zoro smiled while Peidro turned around. Luffy was walking towards him, blood flowing from his temple, his vest singed slightly, and his straw hat seemingly untouched.

"You have spunk, Luffy. I admire that," Peidro remarked, pointing his sword at the floor.

"Bastard… you will pay for what you did to my Nami!" said Sanji, who was also walking towards Peidro, but he was behind Luffy. His black suit and pants had a little bit of dust, and his blonde hair was slightly messy.

"Bring it…" Peidro challenged, pointing his left hand towards him. Another small, blue energy sphere appeared. Luffy's eyes suddenly glowed.

"That's so COOL!" he exclaimed, thoroughly confusing Peidro. "How do you do that?"

"Luffy, this is not the time to be complimenting him! Don't you remember what he did to my sweet Nami?" Sanji yelled at him.

'_I blasted him with one of these things not long ago yet he still thinks they are cool?' _thought Peidro, raising his brows. '_This kid is truly interesting.' _

"We have you now… Straw Hat Luffy…" grunted a voice from behind Luffy and Sanji. Peidro looked at the owner of the voice, his orb disappearing. He was tall and muscular, with slightly messy white hair, black eyes, and a scowl on his face. He wore a large blue and white jacket with greenish fur lining at the neck, wrists and hem, brown leather gloves, navy blue pants with a brown belt, and military brown boots. He was smoking two cigars at the same time and had a multitude of them strapped to his jacket's left chest and sleeve. He had a jitte strapped to his back.

Peidro looked at Zoro. He was growling slightly, the grip on his swords tightening. He turned towards Luffy and Sanji, and was slightly surprised at what he saw. Sanji was clenching his teeth with a lit cigarette in his mouth, but Luffy's expression surprised him the most. He was slightly pale and sweaty.

"Captain Smoker! We have the location of the Straw Hat ship! Should we move in to capture it?" asked a young girl as she ran behind the white-haired man. She was about as tall as Aleera, with chin-length dark blue hair, dark brown eyes and red spectacles. She was slender and curvaceous, though she was not as defined as Aleera or Nami. She wore a maroon short-sleeved shirt with pink polka dots under a blue leather coat with white fur lining on her neck, wrists and hem, blue jeans and black shoes. She carried what seemed to be a katana in her hand.

"Good. Tashigi, prepare a unit and move out to capture the ship… Now," ordered Smoker.

"Yes, sir!" she replied, saluting and running off into the harbor.

"There will be no escape, Straw Hat. We have you surrounded," continued Smoker.

As if by magic, scores of people wearing identical white uniforms surrounded Peidro and the small group.

"Shit... the Marines are here," muttered Zoro.

_'Marines, eh?' _thought Peidro.

"No escape for me?" said Luffy, turning towards Smoker. "Sorry, Smokey, but that's not going to happen."

Smoker raised a brow. "It seems that the circumstances are different, Straw Hat."

"Nope, not different at all!" Luffy exclaimed, putting on his straw hat.

"I think Straw Hat Luffy is right," spoke Peidro suddenly. Everyone stared at him in surprise.

"W-What did you say?" asked Sanji.

"Straw Hat Luffy will not be caught today..." Peidro replied, closing his eyes, a smile appearing on his face.

"And why is that?" inquired Smoker, raising his brows.

Peidro opened his eyes, raised his sword and locked eyes with him. He smirked.

"Because I'm not going to let it happen..."

* * *

_**Thanks for reading!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hey, everyone! **_

_**Here is the chapter that I promised for yesterday! I couldn't upload it due to my stupid internet connection failure. Oh, well. Here it is!**_

_**Now, to explain a few things. I know that Peidro might seem way overpowered, but keep in mind that he is the King of Hell, so I think that justifies his massive strength. However, he will not be overpowered all the way through. I have special things planned for EACH of the Straw Hats and Aleera that give them a chance against the mighty King Peidro. I will not reveal what they are, though. That's a secret! **_

_**Also, the reason I chose the Pre-Time-Skip Straw Hats was to emphasize Peidro's growing respect for humans. Because he's there, the Straw Hats will push even harder to reach new levels of strength. Therefore, they will become stronger much faster (for example, Luffy achieving Gear Second sooner). To balance that out, the enemies will be stronger, providing a more difficult challenge for the crew. While it may seem that Peidro will have no enemies to fight because Luffy will be hogging all the strongest ones like the badass that he is, enemies of Peidro's past will appear sometime later in the story. Don't worry, Aleera will get some enemies, too.**_

_**Wondering what Aleera's Devil Fruit is? Find out probably next chapter!**_

_**Special shoutout to Mikkymouse, who has been such a sweetheart to me with her words of inspiration. **_

_**Enough of my rambling. Let's get to the story! **_

_**Like always, Read and Review, please!**_

_**Enjoy!**_

* * *

**Chapter 4: Underestimated Wounds**

"You're not going to let it happen, eh?" Smoker huffed, pulling out his two cigars and dumping the ashes. "By yourself? With those wounds? Give me a break."

"I wouldn't underestimate him," Zoro growled. "This bastard's strong. We didn't take him seriously because of the wounds, and he gave us hell. You know about that earthquake that happened just a while ago? He caused it."

Zoro pointed the sword in his right hand at Peidro. Peidro laughed softly.

"I'm a bastard, huh?" Peidro asked, still chuckling. "Thanks, Zoro."

"No problem," smirked Zoro.

Suddenly, pain engulfed Peidro's body. He stabbed his sword into the ground and fell to his right knee and left hand, gripping his chest with his right. He coughed out blood. Luffy, Sanji and Zoro came closer to him, trying to see what was wrong. Smoker smirked slightly.

"So much for taking this guy seriously," Smoker mocked.

'_Damn it… these wounds are really becoming a pain in the ass…' _Peidro thought.

"Oi, are you okay?" asked Zoro, leaning forward slightly.

"Oh, I'm peachy. Don't worry about me…" remarked Peidro sarcastically. "I'm walking on sunshine right now."

"Asshole," whispered Sanji.

"Oi, Peidro. Can you fight?" asked Luffy. "We are going to fight our way out here fast and get to the ship."

"Yeah, I can fight. Just give me a few seconds," answered Peidro, standing up slowly and shakily. He straightened up, breathing slightly heavily, and pulled out his sword. "Alright, I'm good. Let's do this."

Peidro took a battle position, along with Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy.

"Guys, get behind me. Let me try something," Peidro requested. Everyone looked at him with raised brows. They did as he said.

"Are you going to throw that little blue ball at them?" asked Luffy excitedly.

"Little… blue… ball?" repeated Smoker, slightly confused.

"Something of the sort," Peidro replied, ignoring Smoker and raising his sword.

"Is it that technique you used to cause the earthquake?"asked Zoro, brows raised.

"No Zoro, it's not that. It's something you can learn and master in a short time…" Peidro responded. "Or maybe you already know it…"

"Really?" Zoro asked, slightly interested.

"Yes sir…" Peidro replied. "Here goes…"

Peidro slashed the air vertically, releasing a powerful red energy slash that raced towards Smoker and the Marines. Smoker nimbly sidestepped the slash, while some of the marines panicked and jumped out of the way. One wasn't so lucky, though. The slash managed to slice him in the leg, cutting off a sizable chunk. The marine shrieked in pain and fell to the floor, clutching his leg tightly. Several marines rushed over to his aid.

The slash continued its trajectory until it vanished far from the shore, leaving a slightly thick trail of cut ground. Smoker whistled softly in mock admiration.

"Take him to the ship," ordered Smoker, pointing at the wounded marine. The ones that were holding him straightened up instantly with him and said, "Yes, sir!" They quickly but carefully carried him off to the harbor. The poor wounded marine was still crying in pain.

"That attack surely packs a punch… Peidro was it?" said Smoker, pointing a finger at Peidro.

Peidro shrugged, "I don't know, was it?" He turned to Luffy, Zoro and Sanji. "Get to the ship, guys. I'll meet you there in a bit. I actually want to check on Nami, if that's okay with you Sanji."

"NO, IT'S NOT OKAY!" Sanji yelled in Peidro's face. "I don't want you anywhere _near _my Nami!"

"Well, I really don't need your consent. I'll check on her…" Peidro replied, making Sanji growl.

"Oi, Sanji! Let him. He won't do anything to Nami," Luffy said, putting his hand on Sanji's shoulder. Sanji only kept on growling.

"He's right, Sanji. I'm not asking you to trust me. It's too early for that," Peidro said. "By the way, you weren't fighting at your full strength, right?"

The three pirates shook their heads, slightly dumbfounded. Peidro smiled.

"Why?" asked Zoro.

"I could feel that you were still holding back even after I did that to Nami. Next time we fight, hopefully as friends, you won't hold back at all," Peidro said.

"I will never be your friend after what you did to her…" Sanji said softly.

"Alright, you got it!" Luffy exclaimed.

"I don't see why not…" Zoro said.

"I hate to break up your little conversation, Straw Hats," voiced Smoker. At Peidro's slightly confused expression, he added, "Yes, I'm including _you_, Peidro."

"Get to the ship… now," Peidro said softly, glaring at Smoker.

Peidro lunged at Smoker and slashed him. The sword went through him with ease, but there was no blood or organs spilling out, as Peidro expected.

'_Well, that's odd,' _thought Peidro. He turned around to see Smoker still cut in half, but smoke was coming out instead of blood. Smoker turned around and instantly mended himself back, no wounds visible.

"Oh, that's _fucked _up…" said Peidro, a surprised smile on his face. "I'm guessing you ate one of those Devil Fruit thingies."

"That's right," confirmed Smoker. "I ate the Plume-Plume Fruit. I can control and transform into smoke."

"I really couldn't tell…" Peidro remarked sarcastically. "Well, we have to go. See ya later, _Smokey. _Alright, let's boogie."

The three pirates nodded and began to run towards the harbor with Peidro close behind.

"Don't let them escape!" yelled one of the marines. All of them raised their weapons, shouted in agreement and created a line. Luffy began to laugh.

"Alright, let's do this!" Luffy shouted as he started to plow through some marines rapidly, closely followed by Zoro and Sanji. Peidro lagged behind them slightly, watching them with interest.

'_Punching the representatives of the government in the face. These youngsters are interesting,' _thought Peidro.

After clearing through the marines, the harbor was becoming ever clearer for the group. Luffy was laughing and flailing his arms all over the place like an idiot while Zoro and Sanji only chuckled slightly. Peidro slowly began to join in on the laughter.

"_Smokescreen_!" shouted Smoker from behind. Peidro turned to see a column of billowing smoke headed straight towards Luffy.

"Watch out, Luffy!" yelled Peidro, lunging forward and smacking Luffy out of the way. Luffy cried slightly while Peidro was hit with the smoke and was sent crashing into the ground.

Peidro tried to move, but couldn't. He was immobilized by the smoke.

"Oi, Peidro, are you okay?" asked Luffy, standing up. Zoro motioned towards Peidro.

"Don't worry about me. Get to the ship. I got this," Peidro replied.

They were about to do so when Peidro was lifted up high into the air and smashed into the ground. Peidro growled softly in pain and coughed out a little blood. His sword flew close to Zoro.

"Oi, are you okay?" asked Zoro, extending his hand towards Peidro. He refused it.

"Oh, this guy has it coming," Peidro growled. He furrowed his brows in concentration. "_Force Shield_!"

The smoke surrounding Peidro suddenly flew away from him. Peidro stood there, arms outstretched, surrounded by a bright red dome-shaped transparent shield.

"What the…" Peidro heard Smoker say, surprise evident in his voice. Zoro smirked.

"I told you not to underestimate Peidro. Even wounded, he is damn strong. That "_Force Shield"_ of his is a bitch to deal with," Zoro told Smoker.

Peidro smirked and then disappeared, along with the shield. Smoker stared in surprise while the rest of the marines gawked at the scene. He retracted his smoke back into his body.

"There he goes again," said Zoro, smiling. "I would watch my back, Smoker."

Smoker raised his brows then turned around, only to be met by a boot to the face, much like Luffy, only this time Peidro had used the Force Shield on his right leg. Smoker grunted in pain as he flew towards the three pirates, who smirked slightly and sidestepped the flying marine captain. Peidro turned to see the marines gaping at Peidro, shock and fear swimming through their faces.

Peidro smirked, saluted the marines and turned towards the Straw Hats.

"Well, let's go, shall we?" suggested Peidro. The three of them nodded. Zoro picked up Peidro's sword and threw it at him. He extended his right hand and caught it.

"Thanks, Zoro," said Peidro.

Peidro slashed the air, causing a vortex of flames to surround him. The flames swirled around, scaring the marines even more. When they disappeared, Peidro's sword was gone, but his trench coat had appeared.

"Alright, we're off to Alabasta!" Luffy shouted excitedly. "Oh, before that…"

He turned towards Peidro.

"Join my crew!"

"Oi oi, Luffy! Don't go inviting someone you barely know into the crew!" Sanji shouted, grabbing Luffy's vest.

"Why not? I did the same with you guys…" Luffy replied, pouting slightly.

"He has a point there, Curly Brows," Zoro pointed out. Sanji growled and walked towards Zoro.

"What did you say, shitty Mosshead?" Sanji growled. He jabbed a finger at Peidro. "This guy is a different case! Didn't you see what he did to my beautiful Nami swan?!"

Zoro was about to argue back, but Peidro interrupted, "I will join, but with one condition."

Luffy nodded, waiting for Peidro to continue. Sanji and Zoro looked at him.

"Let Aleera join as well," Peidro stated. Sanji immediately perked.

"WHAT?! You're saying that there's a beautiful lady who wants to join us?!" Sanji shouted, his face reddening softly and adopting a rather perverted look.

"I do not want to imagine what's going through that head of yours…" Peidro commented softly.

"He always does that… freaking Ero-Cook," Zoro whispered, leaning close to Peidro.

"Ah," said Peidro, nodding.

"What did you say, Mosshead?!" yelled Sanji. They were about to argue again, when a cannon blast was heard in the distance.

"Aaack! They're firing at the ship!" shouted Luffy.

He was right. Apart from the cannon blasts, distant, very familiar screams could be heard.

'_Damn, it's Aleera. Have to move,' _thought Peidro.

"Let's go!" shouted Zoro. Everyone nodded and rushed towards the harbor, leaving the angry marines behind.

"Turn left!" shouted Sanji. Everyone turned left, except Zoro, who had gone right. Sanji face palmed while Peidro laughed.

"Hey, Zoro. I think left means over here," stated Peidro, pointing towards the ship. Zoro scratched the back of his head in slight confusion.

"I knew that," he lied.

"Is your sense of direction that bad?" asked Peidro. "I mean, Sanji even said where to go."

"Shut up, asshole!" retorted Zoro. "You all were wrong."

"Sure, Zoro…" replied Peidro. "Let's go. We're wasting time."

Everyone nodded. Peidro looked towards the direction Sanji directed. Docked in the harbor, not so far away from them, was a small caravel class ship facing the sea. It had the head of a white goat for a figurehead, a tall mast in the middle and a shorter one in the rear. A single cannon could be seen protruding just below the figurehead. The main mast had a large furled sail, as well as the rear mast. The main cabin seemed to be located near the rear of the ship, and there was a small field of trees located above the cabin.

The small ship was swaying violently with the waves as a cause of the explosions near it. In the distance, away from the harbor were battleships larger than the caravel. They were a sea-green color with three masts, one in the front, one in the middle, one in the rear. Sails were unfurled on the masts and the word "MARINE" was on the main sail. They were headed directly for the small ship.

"Shit, there are two marine ships headed towards the Merry," said Luffy. Another scream sounded when a cannonball hit the water close to the rear of the caravel.

Then Peidro saw it. A multitude of cannonballs headed straight for the deck of the ship. Without thinking, Peidro blasted off in the direction of the ship and stopped right in the path of the cannonballs. The cannonballs slammed directly into different parts of his body, but mainly in his chest, enveloping him in explosions. He snarled in pain and felt blood welling up in his mouth. He was sent flying back, but he managed to slow his descent, causing him to fall on the deck of the ship. He got up on his hands and knees and coughed out the blood. He clutched his chest tightly as he felt fresh blood oozing out from his wounds. Breathing heavily, he attempted to get up, but couldn't.

'_Damn these fucking wounds!' _roared Peidro in his head, slamming his fist on the ship.

Aleera, shaking slightly, held on tightly to the rails facing the battleships. She was expecting the cannonballs to hit them directly, but they never came. She opened her eyes and saw the column of smoke not far away from the ship. Someone had blocked them… but whom? It couldn't have been any of the marines that had invaded the ship. Apart from being rather weak, they would actually want the cannonballs to hit the ship. She got her answer when she turned to survey the ship. There, on his knees and hands, coughing out blood, was Peidro.

She gasped loudly, eyes wide. Smoke was coming out from his chest, making it obvious that the cannonballs had struck him there. She stood up, ignoring the swaying of the ship and bolted towards Peidro. She kneeled beside him.

"Peidro! Peidro, are you okay?" she asked frantically. Peidro had his eyes closed, his chest heaving up and down. Blood was dripping from his mouth and the wounds on his chest. The door to the ship's cabin opened, revealing a heaving Nami. She looked down at Aleera and Peidro, and angered.

"What the hell are _YOU _doing here?" shouted Nami, jabbing a finger at Peidro.

Standing up slowly with Aleera's help, he said, "I'm protecting your ship from the marines."

"Like hell you are!" shouted Nami, rushing down the stairs towards him. "What the hell did you do to me?!"

"I was testing your will, Nami," replied Peidro, clutching his chest. Aleera looked at him in slight surprise.

"Testing… my will?" repeated Nami, not believing him.

"That's correct. I wanted to see how strong-willed you are. And I admit, your will is strong… so strong, in fact, that you only fell unconscious for 20 minutes. Had your will been weaker, you would be dead right now," Peidro explained. "I was using you as a marker for the crew's overall strength. Your will is that strong, yet you're one of the weaker members of the crew… no offense. That tells me that this crew possesses incredible potential. Forgive me."

He bowed towards Nami, wincing slightly in pain. Nami and Aleera stared at him in surprise, though Nami's expression was slowly shifting into one of anger. Before she could say anything, the booming of a few cannons could be heard in the distance and the whistling of the cannonballs grew ever closer. Peidro looked up and saw about five cannonballs headed directly towards them.

"Excuse me…" said Peidro softly, and jumped towards the cannonballs. Aleera's shocked expression turned into one of worry.

"Peidro, what are you doing?! Come back!" shouted Aleera, but it was too late. The cannonballs had struck Peidro in the chest once again, enveloping him in smoke and fire. Aleera gasped and brought her hands to her mouth. Nami only stared in shock.

The smoke cleared, revealing a floating Peidro surrounded in the now familiar fiery red aura, with his right hand extended away from his body.

"He can fly?" asked Nami, looking at Aleera. Aleera could only nod, as she was staring intently at Peidro's right hand.

Suddenly, a small black orb appeared in his outstretched hand. It began to grow ominously as more energy flowed to it. Harsh gusts of wind began to emanate from him, traveling in all directions.

"Oi, Aleera, what is he doing?" asked Nami, walking towards Aleera.

"NAMI, DEAR! YOU'RE AWAKE!" shouted Sanji as he climbed onto the ship, with hearts on his eyes. He then made his way to Nami in a rather unique way, with his legs swirling all over the place at a very fast speed, giving the illusion of a noodle. He suddenly stopped when he got to her and kneeled. "I will care for… what the hell is he _doing_?"

He pointed his finger at Peidro. Aleera stepped up towards Sanji.

"He's protecting the ship. However, I don't know what he's doing right now. I've never seen him use that before," Aleera explained. Sanji suddenly perked up when he heard another woman's voice answer his question, other than his precious Nami and Vivi.

"_Mellorine_! That shitty bastard was right! Another beautiful lady is on this ship!" Sanji exclaimed, rushing over to Aleera, kneeling in front of her and grabbing her hand. "And what, my beautiful lady, is your name?"

"Um, it's Aleera," Aleera replied, reddening slightly and removing her hand slowly.

"Aleera, such a beautiful name, fitting for a beautiful princess like you, my sweet," Sanji showered her with compliments. She only stood there, taking them all in.

"OI, NAMI! How do you feel?!" shouted Luffy as he climbed over the ship, closely followed by Zoro, Vivi, Usopp and Chopper.

"Nami, you're awake!"

"I'm so glad nothing is wrong with you!"

"You should be resting, Nami!"

"Oh… the witch is awake…"

Nami rushed over and smacked Zoro in the head, "What did you say?!"

Zoro only grunted and looked away from her, a bump forming where Nami hit him.

"Oi, what's Peidro doing?" asked Zoro.

"I have no idea," replied Nami. "Aleera said he has never used this kind of technique before."

"That's right," confirmed Aleera. "I have a bad feeling about this, though."

Suddenly, Peidro disappeared, and so did the harsh gusts and the aura. Everyone searched frantically for him, but to no avail. He was gone.

"_Death Blaster_!"

Everyone looked up. A large beam, black as night, was sailing at breakneck speed towards the two marine ships from the sky. It struck one of them, breaking it in half, causing a massive explosion to surround them. An immense gust of wind blew towards the Straw Hat Pirates, causing large waves to crash in the ship's hull and making it sway even more violently than before. Aleera screamed in surprise and grabbed onto the rail along with the rest of the crew.

Once the commotion had calmed, the crew stood up shakily and looked towards the marine ships. The only thing was… they weren't there. There was only fire rising from the sea along with some pieces of wood protruding from the water's surface.

"What… the HELL… was THAT?!" stammered Nami, pointing her finger at the roaring flames. "Did you guys see that?"

"Yes, we all did, Nami dear. I'm at a loss here as well…" Sanji replied.

Peidro suddenly appeared behind them all, making Nami jump slightly. Everyone else turned to look at him with slight wariness. He was smiling evilly, but even that couldn't hide the pain he was in.

"Peidro?" prompted Aleera. "Are you alright?"

Peidro didn't respond. He only stared forward at the destruction he had caused, his evil smile slowly becoming a pained scowl. He finally opened his mouth to respond, but only blood came gushing out. As if in slow motion, Peidro began to fall towards the deck face-first. Aleera gasped softly and rushed to his aid, managing to halt his fall. She was closely followed by Chopper and Luffy, the former transforming into his Heavy Point. He then slowly picked him up.

"Chopper… help him… please," Aleera said faintly.

"He will not…" said Peidro softly, but painfully. He then pushed himself away from Chopper, causing to fall to the floor. Slowly, he began to get up. Aleera made to stop him, but he raised a hand at her.

"But… why?" asked Aleera. "Why won't you let him help you? He's a doctor, you know. If anyone can help you, it's him!"

"I don't need a doctor…" Peidro growled, standing up straight.

"You must be out of your mind. With those wounds, you should be in the infirmary right now," Sanji said, taking a whiff of his cigarette. "Even Mosshead isn't that stupid."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Zoro shouted.

"Why won't you let Chopper help you?" asked Aleera, interrupting Zoro's and Sanji's sure fight. They all turned towards him. They had to hear Peidro's reason for not receiving medical care for such terrifying wounds.

"Simple… I want to test my body's limits…" Peidro replied. Everyone except Luffy face palmed.

"You really _are _out of your mind," remarked Sanji.

"Peidro… go with Chopper to the infirmary… _now_…" Aleera ordered, pointing towards Chopper, who had shrunk back into his Brain Point.

"Nope…" replied Peidro, making his way to the bow of the ship. Aleera followed him, ready to attempt to drag him. Luffy was right behind Aleera.

"Oh, yeah. Aleera, join my crew!" Luffy exclaimed enthusiastically. Aleera turned to him, wide-eyed.

"W-W-What?" Aleera stammered softly.

"Join my crew!" Luffy repeated, just as enthusiastic. "Peidro said you wanted to join… so I'm inviting you!"

'_I don't remember telling him she actually _wanted _to join…' _thought Peidro.

"W-Well… I don't know."

"You should, Aleera. After all, it is your dream to become one of the Four Emperors, like your father…" Peidro said.

"That's true…" whispered Aleera.

"Four Emperors… what's that?" asked Luffy.

"They are the four most powerful pirates in the world. They are even stronger than the Seven Warlords of the Sea," explained Aleera. Luffy's eyes glowed, his mouth dropping nearly to the floor.

"Really? And you want to become of those? That's so cool!" shouted Luffy, laughing loudly. Everyone else looked at her, slight smiles on their faces, except Chopper, who wanted to check on Peidro's wounds, but was too scared to approach him.

"How about you, Luffy?" asked Aleera.

"Me? I'm the man who's going to be the King of the Pirates!" said Luffy excitedly. "That's stronger than those four guys, right?"

"I suppose…" Aleera shrugged. Luffy turned towards Peidro.

"So, what's _your _dream?" asked Luffy.

"I have no dream…" Peidro scoffed softly, gripping his chest tightly.

"Of course you do… if not, you wouldn't be joining this crew right now. You're joining for a reason, right?" Luffy insisted. Everyone except Peidro and Aleera gasped at Luffy's sudden bout of wisdom.

'_I guess this kid has a few well-kept secrets…' _thought Peidro.

"Why are y'all gasping like that?" asked Aleera, confused.

"Well… how do I put this…" began Vivi. "Um… Luffy…"

"Luffy's a total idiot…" Nami finished, smiling softly. "He usually doesn't say things like that."

"Ah…" was all Aleera could say.

"So what is it?" asked Luffy, apparently ignoring the conversation, though the slight twitching of his brow gave another message to Peidro.

"Fine… I want to be a stronger warrior and a wiser king… there. Happy?" replied Peidro. Luffy's eyes glowed once again while everyone else stared at him with wide eyes.

"You're a king? That's so COOL!" Luffy exclaimed. "What else are you hiding?"

Peidro raised a brow at this, "Pardon me?"

"I mean… you can shoot balls of light out your hands, you can create your clothes out of fire, your punches and kicks actually hurt me when you use that red thingy, and you can fly. What else are you hiding?" Luffy asked again.

"I wouldn't ask that question, Luffy. It might come back at you later…" Peidro replied cryptically. For some odd reason, Nami turned to Luffy with a slightly worried expression on her face. Everyone else just looked at Peidro, just waiting for him to state the origin of his massive power.

"And what if I tell you that it's a Devil Fruit?" Peidro asked nonchalantly.

"I would call you a liar…" Luffy replied simply, shrugging his shoulders. There it was, just plain and simple. Peidro couldn't help it… he laughed softly, a strangely eerie laugh, which sent chills down Aleera's body. Even though he was nice and everything, he was still a demon, so it was no surprise that some of his antics could, and would, elicit such reactions from her. Nami, Vivi, Usopp and Chopper also looked positively crept out by his laugh.

"And why would you call me so?" asked Peidro, still retaining his smile.

"Because I remember you telling Nami that you have no Devil Fruit power," replied Luffy.

"And what if I was lying back then?" asked Peidro, his smile growing slightly.

"You weren't," replied Luffy, expressionless.

"How do you know that?" inquired Peidro, his smile faltering slightly.

"I just do…" Luffy replied simply, shrugging his shoulders.

"I see… You really are an interesting lad, Luffy…" Peidro complimented. Luffy smiled.

"Shishishishi… You think so?" Luffy asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"I wouldn't be joining your crew, submitting my royal self under a lowlife like you if you weren't interesting…" said Peidro, closing his eyes.

"Aw, come on… he's not that bad…" Vivi said, waving her hands.

"I know he isn't," Peidro replied, almost curtly. Sanji stepped forward, taking a whiff out of his cigarette.

"Watch how you speak to my dear Vivi, jackass…" Sanji growled softly.

"Anyway…" began Peidro, ignoring Sanji. He turned to Aleera. "Aleera, is there a beach close to your house?"

"Yeah, why?" replied Aleera.

"We need to get your clothes and essentials you're going to need for this adventure…" Peidro explained. "This trip will not be a short one…"

"But I never said I was going to join the crew…" Aleera muttered.

"You are going to, because it's your dream," Peidro stated matter-of-factly. "Remember what I told you in your house after _it _happened?"

"What happened?" piped up Sanji, not liking at all how Peidro emphasized the last few words. "Did you defile this beautiful princess, you bastard?"

"That's all you think about, it seems…" Peidro uttered softly, but loudly enough for Sanji to hear.

"BASTARD!" shouted Sanji, jumping and aiming a powerful kick at Peidro. Everyone expected him to block the kick, but he didn't. Instead, he allowed the kick to land square in his chest, sending him back a few meters, but he was still standing. When he stopped, though, he fell on his back, coughing out a little more blood.

"Oi, Sanji!" shouted Luffy.

"Peidro!" screamed Aleera as she rushed to him.

"Oh, goody. I'm making a mess, aren't I?" Peidro spoke to himself. He then directed himself towards Luffy. "I'll clean this in a bit."

"AAACK! He needs a doctor!" shouted Chopper, rather amusingly.

"Chopper, you are the doctor!" shouted Usopp, his hand slapping the… air? Peidro seemed rather confused by this.

"Oh, right!" Chopper said, rushing inside the ship to gather medical equipment.

"I still can't believe it, though…" Nami began.

"What is it, Nami?" asked Luffy.

"Peidro's endurance. I mean, I'm sure those horrible wounds are from some crazy battle. I'm also pretty sure he took some pretty strong hits from Luffy, Sanji and Zoro. Then, here, he took a dozen cannonballs to the chest and to the face. And after that, another kick from Sanji…" Nami explained. She looked at Peidro. "Just how strong are you to take all that and still be standing?"

"Well, that doesn't really matter right now…" Peidro replied. "We need to get to the beach closest to Aleera's house and pick up her stuff before more marines arrive."

"Peidro's got a point," agreed Luffy. "Alright, everyone! Let's set sail!"

"Yeah!" the crew answered, darting off in different directions to do their respective duties.

"Peidro! Come over here!" shouted Chopper from a trapdoor right next to the mast.

"I don't think so…" muttered Peidro, closing his eyes.

"Hey, Peidro. Do you want me to join the crew?" asked Aleera nonchalantly.

"Yeah, why?" asked Peidro.

"I'll join on one condition…" she began.

"Get treatment from Chopper… Alright, Aleera, I'll do it," Peidro interrupted, sighing deeply. She hugged him tightly.

"Thanks!" Aleera laughed. "You know it's for your own good."

Sanji sunk into a depressive state, muttering incomprehensibly when he saw Aleera's tight embrace on Peidro. Zoro looked at them indifferently, muttering "Stupid Dart-Brows" under his breath. Nami face palmed while Vivi just smiled meekly.

"Yeah… I know…" said Peidro, smirking at Sanji's current state.

"Well, let's go, shall we?" prompted Aleera, earning a nod from Peidro.

"Let's," replied Peidro.

Slowly, but surely, the pair made their way to the trapdoor where Chopper was located. Looking down, Peidro noticed that the ladder descending into the men's room was only made up of cylindrical logs connected to the mast.

"Hey, Chopper, is this where he's going to be treated?" asked Aleera over the shouting of the rest of the crew.

"Yes… I already have everything set here. You can come down," called out Chopper. Aleera looked at Peidro.

"Um, how will we do this?" she asked.

"Ladies first… I'll manage," replied Peidro.

"You sure?"

"Positive…"

"Okay," she said, descending into the trapdoor.

The ship began to move slightly as the sails were unfurled. Movement began to increase as the sails caught more wind and the ship sailed away from the harbor.

After Aleera had descended completely into the room, Peidro began his descent. The room he was greeted with was rather small and square. There were five hammocks hung close together in one corner, a large chest full of supplies in another corner, a seemingly comfortable couch and table in another and another similar couch with a laundry set sitting next to it in the last corner.

"Go lay down in the couch, please," Chopper instructed, pointing towards the couch with the table next to it. It had sheets and a pillow set. Peidro nodded, removing his trench coat, laying down, and resting his head on the pillow.

"This might hurt a bit Peidro," Chopper warned, pulling out medical supplies.

"I'm used to pain," replied Peidro. "By the way, are you going to stitch my skin?"

Chopper nodded slowly.

Aleera bit her lower lip softly, feeling chills run down her spine, not from the fact that Peidro was receiving stitches, but from the fact that the Chopper was going to practically stitch his entire upper body up. She could probably handle receiving large cuts like Peidro's, but having them stitched up was another story.

"Okay. _Pielus Debilus," _chanted Peidro softly. He began to glow in a soft green light. Chopper's eyed shined a bright yellow. Aleera looked at Peidro with a surprised expression.

"That's so cool! What are you doing?" squealed Chopper excitedly, ogling Peidro's glow.

"I'm debilitating my skin…"

"Wait… WHAT?" Aleera nearly shouted, not expecting that.

"I'm weakening my skin's strength," explained Peidro, his eyes closed. "At peak strength, my skin would be impenetrable by conventional weaponry. So, I'm lowering the strength of my skin so Chopper can stitch it with minimal difficulty."

"Sounds painful…" muttered Aleera, cringing slightly.

"It's fine. I've told you before. I have received worse wounds than this and still survived, Aleera," reassured Peidro, giving Aleera a small smile. She nodded softly. "By the way, I think you need to be up there. The crew probably does not know the shore closest to your home."

Aleera perked up. "Ah, right…" she said, making her way up the ladder. "Take care of him Chopper."

"Right," said Chopper. "Ready, Peidro?"

Peidro nodded, closing his eyes once again, losing himself in his train of thought. He thought about the current predicament this planet faced while ignoring the little pangs of pain he felt when Chopper stabbed his skin with his needle.

In two years, this planet faced total destruction from something brought from _his_ universe, and he had no possible way to stop it. He didn't even know _how_ the hell the thing managed to cross the Dimensional Rift. No Demonicus in the history of Hell had managed to touch the Hell's Embers and lived to tell the tale. He was basically going to try the impossible in two years.

"Hey, Peidro…"

Well, what a _glorious _situation. The last of the Demonicus was most likely going to die in two years protecting a planet inhabited by _humans_, not _demons_. But he had a good reason to sacrifice himself…

"Um, Peidro?"

He was taking responsibility for the things happening in his kingdom, what every wise king would do. He had to admit, though. It was a pretty selfless action to sacrifice his life for someone other than his kin, and that was something for a demon. For normal demons, it was a one player game all the way. "Live for yourself, die for yourself" were the usual words followed by them.

"Peeeiiiddrrooo…"

"Hmm?" asked Peidro, abruptly snapping out of his train of thought. It seemed Chopper was waiting for something, but Peidro could no figure out what it was.

"Can you please lower your pants slightly?" asked Chopper.

"Oh, sure… very well," obliged Peidro, lowering his pants. "Is that enough?"

"That's great…" Chopper affirmed, hurrying back to the stitching. "Is it hurting?"

"No. I'm not feeling anything, actually," replied Peidro.

"Very well," said Chopper.

"Chopper…" muttered Peidro softly, attracting the little reindeer's attention. "Thanks… not everyone treats someone like me."

"Don't worry, Peidro," replied Chopper. "It's my duty as a doctor to heal the sick and wounded. Especially you, since you're part of the crew now."

Peidro smiled. It disappeared, though, as he felt the ship slowing to a stop.

"We're there…" uttered Peidro. Just then, the trapdoor opened.

"Hey Peidro, we're there… KYAAAA!"

It was Aleera, but she disappeared almost instantly. For what it seemed, she expected to see Peidro' bare chest and abdomen, but she never expected to see his manhood as Chopper finished up stitching his right leg. Peidro quickly picked up his pants and stood up, so as to avoid any more _unexpected surprises_.

"Not so fast, Peidro!" Chopper ordered. "You have to remain in bed for a little longer."

"I'll be fine, Chopper," replied Peidro. "_Pielus Regularus_."

The green glow surrounding Peidro disappeared as he picked up his trench coat and put it on.

"EEEEHHHH! What happened?!" shouted Chopper, his eyes bulging out.

"My skin has returned to its normal strength. It is now harder than steel," answered Peidro.

"EEEEEEEEHHHHHHH! Your skin is harder than STEEL?!" shouted Chopper, even louder this time. Peidro nodded, smirking slightly. Apparently, Chopper had forgotten that he had mentioned the strength of his skin not long ago.

"Um, Peidro?" said Aleera from above, interrupting the conversation. Chopper snapped out of his amazed state and looked up along with Peidro. She was looking away, her face as red as her hair.

"Yes?"

"W-W-We're h-here. I-I'll be b-back in a b-bit," stuttered Aleera, still not looking at Peidro. "H-How are you f-feeling?"

"I'm great, Aleera," smirked Peidro, thoroughly enjoying her embarrassment. "By the way, you look cute like that."

She squeaked softly, her face turning even redder, if that was possible.

"Well… I'll be back in a bit," Aleera muttered sheepishly, throwing the tiniest glance at Peidro, her eyes widening slightly at the thoroughly mischievous smile on his face. Oh, she was never going to hear the end of this one. She disappeared from the trapdoor's entrance.

After waiting patiently in the men's room alone and listening to the craziness on the deck, the trapdoor opened once again, and Aleera jumped in.

"How are you feeling?" asked Aleera, inspecting Peidro's chest.

"I'm fine. Do you have everything you need?" Peidro replied, gesturing up towards the deck.

"Yeah," replied Aleera. "Everything is in Nami's room already. Well, _our _room. Me, Nami, Vivi…"

"I know…" interrupted Peidro, chuckling softly. He gestured towards the deck again. "Let's go up."

"You mean… you've been in here waiting for me?" inquired Aleera, incredulous.

"Sort of…" replied Peidro softly, scratching the back of his head. "I know I'm a Straw Hat pirate now, but I'll need to keep my distance from the crew to keep tensions down. Except maybe Luffy."

"You're right…" said Aleera, placing a finger on her chin, deep in thought. "Especially after what you did to Nami. Everyone, specifically Sanji and Nami, will be on edge around you."

"Yeah, well, no worries," Peidro reassured, placing his finger on her chin, lifting her face to meet his gaze. "We'll find a way."

Aleera blushed slightly.

"Shall we?" prompted Peidro.

"Sure," Aleera nodded sheepishly. "Let's go."

As they climbed the ladder to get to the deck, the pair heard Luffy's voice ring throughout the ship.

"Alright! We're off to Alabasta!"

* * *

_**Thanks for reading! **_

_**I know this chapter was kind of slow, but I promise that by the next few chapters it will pick up quite a bit.**_

_**I will probably attempt to fit in all of the Alabasta Arc in the next chapter, so I might take longer to update. It will be somewhat close to canon. Luffy will defeat Crocodile, but there will be some changes. Look forward to that! **_

_**Once again, thanks for reading!**_

_**Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!**_

_**-Pcano94**_


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